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Comment by ivanech | Hacker News Reader

The Lead Exposure Elimination Project (https://leadelimination.org/) is an organization that's working to solve this problem internationally. I've been giving money on a monthly basis and have been blown away by their progress.

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> Experts suggest that lead paint is now one of the most important current and future sources of lead exposure, as well as the most tractable source to address.

https://leadelimination.org/factfile/

Why is it so popular in the US? Is it better? Cheaper?

I'm quite shocked to see it's still happening. Lead in pain has been forbidden for interiors in Germany since 1921 (exterior since 1989)...

It was banned in the US in 1978.

So this is all historical and not being removed because of the cost?

Correct. Though note also that lead paint was being phased out already earlier than 1978, so single-family homes built after 1960 or so are less likely to have lead. That still leaves a lot of dwelling units, particularly those that were not renovated recently (i.e. cheaper places).

I still remember the school shutting down the playground to get rid of lead paint back in K-12. In the 1990s.

Unless it was a 20 year old playground, the playground was probably made in SE Asia. We got miniblinds around 1990 that were manufactured in China, but sold in the US that were recalled due to lead paint.

The school was built in 1979. It was probably the original playground. All chippy-paint metal aside from the rubber swing seats.

It isn't uncommon at all to simply apply new coats of paint over existing ones, rather than sanding and scraping off the old paint.

As long as kids don't eat your walls, it is safer too- the risks from a few chips are much lower than fine powdered dust that lingers around a long time and is even harder to completely remove.

This is 100% true. Even in high regulation states like Massachusetts nobody is required to remove all lead paint, just lead paint that’s at risk of flaking or being ingested, like a door jamb or a window sill, or a non-intact wall.

To put it another way: a child won’t break through your living room wall and ingest that paint. They might scrape flakes off the already flaking window sill, though.

It was one of the 'best' exterior and trim paints available for a time.

Not easy to remove from old window sills or concrete ledges. It only gets removed somewhat during necessary window and door replacements.

So it is ubiquitous in older houses and flats. Doesn't matter if it is 1 million USD, the lead will be somewhere if it is old enough. Particularly attics and basements, or anywhere with grindy old doors or windows -- not safe for children.

The plumbing also has lead, either through lead pipes directly or iron pipes with leaded solder or other high lead content.

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