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We all care about the health of our families. One way we show we care is by providing a home where healthy and safe eating, playing and sleeping can occur. Because we spend about 90 percent of our time indoors, our home environment is closely linked to our health. We can create healthy homes to support our families’ health just by making a few changes.
In honor of National Healthy Homes Month this June, you can learn more about ways to make your home a healthier place to live. One way is by keeping your home contaminant-free. In the Kennebec Valley region, it is especially important to find out if your house is contaminated with lead. There are many more homes with lead and a higher number of lead-poisoning cases here than there are elsewhere. In fact, Augusta and Gardiner have some of the highest number of lead poisoning in the state.
That’s because so many of us live in older buildings where lead paint was once used. Before 1978, lead was used in paint, water pipes, gasoline, pottery and other consumer goods. Lead paint is no longer used in house paint, but a lot of older homes still have lead in paint, water pipes or other materials. Most children with lead poisoning in Maine live in homes built before 1950.
You can make sure your home is lead-free by completing a lead dust test. If you live in a house built before 1950 and have young children or are expecting a new baby, you can request a free test kit by going to Maine.gov/healthyhomes or calling 1-866-292-3474 (toll free).
Dust from lead paint is the most common cause of lead poisoning in Maine. That’s because lead paint was used on the inside of homes and others buildings around windows, doors, trim and floors, and on the outside on siding, trim, porches and stairs. Opening and closing doors and windows and even walking on floors can turn old lead paint into dust you can’t see. The dust goes onto children’s toys and fingers and then into their mouths. In addition, old weathered paint can peel, flake, chip and be consumed by children who are at that stage where everything goes right into their mouths.
If you are pregnant or have young children, it’s particularly important to find out if you have lead contamination where you live. Lead is toxic to everyone, but unborn babies and young children are at the greatest risk for health problems from lead poisoning, because their smaller, growing bodies make them more susceptible to absorbing and retaining lead.
Each year in the U.S., hundreds of thousands of children are found to have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, which can lead to long-term, serious problems, such as learning disabilities, behavior problems, hearing damage, language or speech delays, and lower intelligence.
Ask your child’s doctor at their 1- and 2-year-old visit about a blood lead test.
Safeguard your home and family by getting the tests for lead and learning more about how to make your home as healthy as possible. Maine.gov/healthyhomes has resources and information on home-related health issues, and Healthy Communities of the Capital Area, a coalition of local people who work to improve the health and quality of life in Kennebec County provides a wide range of health guidance and tips at www.hccame.org.
