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Common sources of lead

Lead can be found throughout a child's environment. Exposure to any of these sources can hurt your child. Here are some common sources of lead.

LPP_Spices

Lead in foods and brightly-colored spices from outside the USA

Deteriorated lead paint

Deteriorated lead paint

Lead in fishing weights

Lead fishing weights

Lead in children's toys

Lead in children's jewelry

deteriorated paint in furniture

Lead in furniture painting/refinishing

lead in glazed pottery

Lead in glazed pottery and in containers made outside of the USA

Lead in chapulines

Lead found in chapulines (fried grasshoppers)

Lead in cosmetics

Lead in cosmetics (surma, kohl, khali)

lead in sindoor

Lead in Sindoor

workplace exposure to lead

Workplace exposure where lead is disturbed

Lead contaminated soil

Lead in contaminated soil

Lead contaminated water

Lead in plumbing materials (including solder and service lines)

Among these sources, lead based paint found in homes built before 1978 continues to be the leading cause of childhood lead poisoning in California. 
Old house with chipping paint

Why lead based paint?

  • Although lead paint was banned for residential use in the United States in 1978, it is still present in many homes. 
  • An estimated 29 million homes, about a quarter of all U.S. housing, still contains lead-based paint hazards. 
  • These 29 million homes largely consist of older housing stock in dense urban areas with residents that are typically low-income and people of color. 

  • People are often unaware of the dangers of lead paint, even though the law mandates that home sellers and/or landlords provide this information from the outset.

    Being aware of the risk of lead paint hazards and keeping old paint in good condition to reduce the risk of exposure is important.