RRP and Lead —'It takes as little as a grain of salt to poison a kid'

RRP and Lead —'It takes as little as a grain of salt to poison a kid' — Kansas City Star

From the Kansas City Star:

Eight-month-old Oskar Ryan-Garrard did not eat paint chips. He didn’t swallow or suck on lead-laden toys either. He simply moved about his early 1900s Westport home and like any baby put his fingers and feet in his mouth. Then an optional blood draw showed a dangerously high level of lead.

A risk assessor found lead-leaden dust on the windowsills of Oskar’s home and on the floor and porch where he plays. Oskar’s dad is a house painter, and lead was on his work clothes, too.

“It takes as little as a grain of salt to poison a kid,” said Shannon Steinbauer of the Kansas Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Prevention Program in Topeka.

And that grain of salt can find its way into any home: paint, residue from a parent’s occupation or hobby, everyday products.