Do you have a lead problem in your home? It's not always easy to determine, but there are some things you can do to identify potential hazards.

Keep in mind that your vigilance and good common sense are ultimately the best tools you have to protect your loved ones from this lingering poison.

On-site evaluation: Based on the age of your home and condition of the painted surfaces, you may be able to make some assumptions about the presence of lead in your home. However, the only sure way to identify lead sources in and around your home is to have a licensed lead inspector conduct an on site evaluation. You can make some assumptions based on the age of your home and condition of the painted surfaces.

For more information:

http://www.hcfa.gov

http://www.hud.gov/lea/leahome.html

Paint: Many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint on both interior and exterior surfaces. Lead paint can also be found on older toys and furniture. The biggest threat from lead paint comes from fine lead dust created when doors, windows, or other painted surfaces rub against each other, which causes chipping or peeling of lead-based paint. Small children may find the taste of surfaces containing lead paint to be sweet to the taste. You should carefully monitor your children's hand to mouth activity whenever you know that lead-based paint exists in your home.

For more information:

http://www.hud.gov/lea/learules.html

http://www.hud.gov/lea/leahome.html

Lead in the soil in your yard: The areas where your child plays can be contaminated by lead-based paint chips and dust coming off exterior painted surfaces, especially in areas immediately adjacent to your home's exterior walls. It is also estimated that up to five million tons of lead emitted by leaded gasoline remains in the soil in areas adjacent to busy streets and highways. Another possible source of lead in the soil around your home is the past use of lead-based insecticides.

For more information:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/cxlead.html

http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/ordering.htm

Lead in water: The water you bathe with, even the tap water you drink, may have lead in it. The source is most likely old lead water pipes and lead solder used for pipe connections.

For more information:

http://www.epa.gov/ow/

http://www.epa.gov/305b/98report/

http://www.epa.gov/watrhome/

Lead in food: If the food you eat was grown near a source of lead pollution, stored or baked in poorly glazed pottery, stored in leaded crystal, prepared by someone with lead on their hands, or packaged in cans with lead seams, it may be contaminated.

For more information:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs3me97026.html

Other possible lead sources: Other sources of lead in and around your home may include

People who live or have lived in southeastern Missouri may have been exposed to lead because that region was the world's largest source of lead. Piles of dirt, called tailings, sit in and near towns such as Bonne Terre, Park Hills, Desloge, Potosi, and Farmington. Although these tailings are just the remains of old lead mining operations and do not necessarily contain any significant amounts of lead, their dust may be harmful. Likewise, areas around the lead smelter in Herculaneum, MO, just south of St. Louis, have been found to be severely contaminated by lead.

For more information:

http://www.epa.gov/opptsfrs/home/opptsim.htm

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html