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Massachusetts Hardware Stores Team Up on Health Campaign to Fight Lead Poisoning

Release Date: 03/12/2001
Contact Information: Laura Whittaker, Keep It Clean Campaign (617-636-2431) Robyn Fitzgerald, Lead Safe Cambridge (617-349-4650) Dick Walsh, Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety (413-448-8746)

BOSTON - Nearly 200 paint and hardware stores across New England, including 40 in Massachusetts, have teamed up with the Tufts University Keep It Clean Campaign to educate families about lead-safe renovation.

"Hardware stores are a great place to reach people before they begin spring home improvement projects and teach them about safe renovation techniques if they have old lead paint in their home," said Laura Whittaker, coordinator of the Keep It Clean Campaign, which is part of the New England Lead Coordinating Committee based at Tufts University.

"Childhood lead poisoning continues to be a major public health threat in New England," added Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA's New England Office, which is helping to fund the campaign. "The Keep It Clean Campaign is a great consumer effort to remind do-it-yourselfers of the lead risks that are out there and how they can be avoided."

Although banned from paint in 1978, lead-based paint continues to be prevalent in many New England homes and apartment buildings, especially in urban areas where housing stocks tend to be older.

"Many homeowners and parents don't realize their home improvement projects may disturb old layers of lead paint," Whittaker said. "This can create lead dust, the most common source of lead poisoning, especially for children. All it takes is as much lead dust equal to the amount of sugar found in a sugar packet to poison a child. And since the lead dust is so small you can't see it, many homeowners don't realize they have created a problem."

In Massachusetts, three percent of children under the age of six have elevated lead levels in their blood. Lead poisoning rates for children living in urban areas is substantially higher, in some cities running as high as 20 percent.

Children under the age of six and pregnant women are most vulnerable to lead. Even adults doing the work can get lead poisoning, so it's smart for everyone to take precautions.

The Keep It Clean Campaign promotes easy and inexpensive lead-safe renovation solutions that any homeowner can use. Some simple methods, such as misting surfaces before sanding, containing the work area and careful clean-up, can make a dramatic difference in reducing the risk of lead poisoning.

Participating hardware stores have trained employees to answer questions about lead-safe renovations and have additional information. Among the stores participating in Massachusetts are:

City Paint & Supply, Cambridge, MA, 617-547-7290
Inman Square Hardware, Cambridge, MA, 617-491-3405
TAGS Ace Hardware, Cambridge, MA, 617-868-7711
Dickson Brothers, Cambridge, MA, 617-876-6760
Home Depot, Somerville, MA, 617-623-0001

Dettinger Lumber Co., Pittsfield, MA, 413-442-6916
Passonno Paint, Pittsfield, MA, 413-499-4149
Tyler Home Supply, Inc., Pittsfield, MA, 413-442-1382
Wal-Mart, Pittsfield, MA, 413-442-1971

Aubuchon Hardware, Williamstown, MA, 413-458-3000
Aubuchon Hardware, North Adams, MA , 413-663-3500
Caligari & Son, Great Barrington, MA, 413-528-0030
Carr Hardware & Supply Co., Great Barrington, MA, 413-528-4520
Caligari's Hardware, Lenox, MA, 413-637-0488
Elling True Value Hardware, Lee, MA, 413-243-2541
H. Greenberg & Son, Inc., North Adams, MA, 413-664-4576
Home Depot, West Springfield, MA, 413-731-9700
L.P. Adams, Dalton, MA, 413-684-0025
Lee Hardware Store, Lee , MA, 413-243-0786
Quinn's Inc., North Adams, MA, 413-663-5303
Sears & Roebuck Co., Lanesboro, MA, 413-448-9280
Wal-Mart, North Adams, MA, 413-664-4004

The campaign began March 3 and goes until the end of June.

For more information on lead exposure, visit EPA's web site at www.epa.gov/region01/topics/pollutants/lead.html.