As real estate professionals that understand the dangers Lead poisoning exposure poses (especially to our children) we've found all of the recent news reports concerning lead in many of the toys laying around quite disturbing to say the least.
I don't think we are the only ones that know the enormous popularity of Thomas the Train among the little ones so when recent lead warnings about a particular line of Thomas the Train toys hit the news, it certainly opened our eyes since we had many of them laying around.
We probably have a little more understanding of the dangers since it's part of our profession and there is a very good reason for disclosures that buyers must be aware of for homes built before 1978. If you don't know the dangers of lead poisoning, you can visit http://www.epa.gov/lead/ and learn why that it is of such great concern if you have children six or under.
In our day to day professional lives, time is short and researching multiple sources of what's safe and what's not is certainly something that really has not been that easy. ESPECIALLY when the number of items recalled in 2007 is in the 100's. That is correct.... in the 100's. Many items in the guide are common sense but items containing lead based paint certainly are not common sense.
So, it was nice to find out that our own great state of Illinois has released a guide that can be downloaded at http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/ and for those that do not have access to the internet (Ok, I know that you are not reading this) you can pick up the guide free of charge at one of multiple offices located throughout the state free of charge.
Lead is a serious concern and if items on this list are laying around your home (or if your home was built before 1978) and you have children under six, you may certainly want to consider having your child tested with a simple blood test. Here is a handy guide from the Illinois Department of Health with more information. http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pdf/Lead_Prevention.pdf
Kudos to our Attorney General, Lisa Madigan and her office for taking the lead and providing an easy to use guide with photos and descriptions.
Date: 2007-12-03 15:02:44