5 ms·

I'm curious and know nothing of the subject, but what's wrong with the chemical testing? I thought they had home lead paint test kits. Living in the Pacific NW

I'm curious and know nothing of the subject, but what's wrong with the chemical testing? I thought they had home lead paint test kits. Living in the Pacific NW, we don't really have a lot of lead paint issues like back east.

ars 11y ago
If you have lead paint that has been painted over the chemical test will not detect it. You have to scratch the paint to search each layer and people don't want to do that. You also can't offer to visit someone for free and do a quick test since each test costs you money.
- oconnore 11y ago
  > You have to scratch the paint to search each layer and people don't want to do that. So you scratch the bottom, and patch it if you really care that much. > You also can't offer to visit someone for free and do a quick test since each test costs you money A fancy x-ray whizzbang that hasn't been developed yet costs money, too. And so does a technician to run it. This seems like a very silly solution looking for a problem.
- thrownaway2424 11y ago
  If you have lead paint that has been painted over, you don't really have a problem.
  - ars 11y ago
    That's not true at all. Most lead pain has been painted over by now - it's almost 40 years old. Yet people are still exposed to it.
    - CamperBob2 11y ago
      (Shrug) You could always teach your kids not to eat paint chips.
      - OneOneOneOne 11y ago
        Infants put everything in their mouths. They may be poisoned before they understand.
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        Sounds like an excellent reason not to leave infants unsupervised, then.
        massysett 11y ago
        Go raise an infant and report back with your luck on this method.
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        This is why the human race is pretty much doomed. "Lead paint is poisonous. Your child shouldn't be allowed to consume it." "No, actually, you're wrong. Have a downvote." Eventually all civil discourse will look like this. We're already starting to see it in Presidential debates.
        massysett 11y ago
        No, if the human race is doomed, it's because ignorant people think it's okay to leave children exposed to known toxic substances. No amount of "supervision" is going to keep a child from consuming lead paint. Children do not get lead poisoning because they walk up to lead-painted walls and start gnawing on them like they are corncobs. Lead paint forms toxic dust. The dust gets on floors and into dirt. Children crawl around, and they WILL put their hands in their mouths even if they are "supervised" at all times. What we are starting to see in presidential debates is an ignorant man talking like he knows everything.
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
    - thrownaway2424 11y ago
      People are still exposed to it because it is in poor repair. The top advice for what to do with interior lead paint is to paint over it.
NolF 11y ago
Probably you don't want to scratch that new toy only to find no lead in it.
santaclaus 11y ago
Plenty of old houses in Portland were built in the early 1900s and have lots of lead issues. There have been quite a few uproars over demolitions without abatement of houses with lead paint near schools.

ars 11y ago

If you have lead paint that has been painted over the chemical test will not detect it. You have to scratch the paint to search each layer and people don't want to do that. You also can't offer to visit someone for free and do a quick test since each test costs you money.

oconnore 11y ago
> You have to scratch the paint to search each layer and people don't want to do that. So you scratch the bottom, and patch it if you really care that much. > You also can't offer to visit someone for free and do a quick test since each test costs you money A fancy x-ray whizzbang that hasn't been developed yet costs money, too. And so does a technician to run it. This seems like a very silly solution looking for a problem.
thrownaway2424 11y ago
If you have lead paint that has been painted over, you don't really have a problem.
- ars 11y ago
  That's not true at all. Most lead pain has been painted over by now - it's almost 40 years old. Yet people are still exposed to it.
  - CamperBob2 11y ago
    (Shrug) You could always teach your kids not to eat paint chips.
    - OneOneOneOne 11y ago
      Infants put everything in their mouths. They may be poisoned before they understand.
      - CamperBob2 11y ago
        Sounds like an excellent reason not to leave infants unsupervised, then.
        massysett 11y ago
        Go raise an infant and report back with your luck on this method.
        CamperBob2 11y ago
        This is why the human race is pretty much doomed. "Lead paint is poisonous. Your child shouldn't be allowed to consume it." "No, actually, you're wrong. Have a downvote." Eventually all civil discourse will look like this. We're already starting to see it in Presidential debates.
        massysett 11y ago
        No, if the human race is doomed, it's because ignorant people think it's okay to leave children exposed to known toxic substances. No amount of "supervision" is going to keep a child from consuming lead paint. Children do not get lead poisoning because they walk up to lead-painted walls and start gnawing on them like they are corncobs. Lead paint forms toxic dust. The dust gets on floors and into dirt. Children crawl around, and they WILL put their hands in their mouths even if they are "supervised" at all times. What we are starting to see in presidential debates is an ignorant man talking like he knows everything.
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
  - thrownaway2424 11y ago
    People are still exposed to it because it is in poor repair. The top advice for what to do with interior lead paint is to paint over it.

NolF 11y ago

Probably you don't want to scratch that new toy only to find no lead in it.

santaclaus 11y ago

Plenty of old houses in Portland were built in the early 1900s and have lots of lead issues. There have been quite a few uproars over demolitions without abatement of houses with lead paint near schools.