We’ve been advocating for stronger lead safety practices for children’s toys for a while now (sign our petition here!), but toys aren’t the only source of lead that can harm our kids. Lead-based paint used in houses and public buildings built before the 1978 ban can sicken children, too. Small kids eat paint chips or inhale dust from these paints during repairs and renovations.

The United States government has taken new steps toward eliminating children’s exposure to lead during renovations and repairs.

Starting in 2010, construction workers must follow “lead-safe work practice standards” that are designed to reduce potential exposure to dangerous levels of lead while renovating houses, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.

“We are serious about eliminating childhood lead poisoning,” James Gulliford, the EPA’s assistant administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, said during a Monday teleconference. “Exposure to lead-contaminated dust is the most common way children get lead poisoning,” he added.

The two-year delay until the new rules take effect is to give contractors and states time to come within compliance.

Lead poisoning in children under six years old can interfere with normal nervous system development, which can lead to various developmental and cognitive delays. In 2002, over 300,000 children had elevated lead levels in their blood, and nearly 40 million homes in the U.S. are thought to still contain lead-based paint. This is a serious problem, and I’m glad to see the government step up to the plate.

Posted by Sunshine.