Lead Poisoning Prevention Guidance for Parents and Caregivers

young child looking with words how would you know if your child has lead poisoning?

There is no safe level of lead in the body. Lead can harm anyone, but babies, young children and pregnant women are at special risk. A child with lead poisoning doesn’t look or act sick, but lead can cause serious health problems.

In 2022, lead was found in over 1,500 Vermont children under the age of 6. Have your doctor test your child for lead at 1 and again at 2 years of age. It's the only way to know!

How Children Come in Contact with Lead

Babies and young children commonly come in contact with lead by swallowing it. Lead dust or soil clings to hands, toys and objects that children put in their mouths. They may eat, chew or suck on lead-painted objects — such as windowsills, toys or furniture. Babies and young children are at highest risk because their developing bodies absorb lead more easily.

Sources of Lead

Dust from lead-based paint is the major source of lead poisoning among children. Children can be poisoned by lead in their own home, at child care or in a caretaker's home. Any home built before 1978 likely has lead-based paint in it. In 1978, lead was banned from house paint, but about 70% of Vermont homes were built before 1978.

Over time, lead paint on surfaces crumbles into invisible dust — especially from opening and closing doors and windows — that contaminates homes and soil. Even if the home has been repainted since 1978, the opening and closing of doors and windows can release lead dust from the original lead-based paint.

Lead can also come from your job or hobbies — such as auto body work, painting or scraping paint, making stained glass, or casting lead toys, sinkers or bullets. Home renovations can create lead dust that can harm children and people who are pregnant.

Learn more about lead hazards and how to prevent lead poisoning

Health Effects of Lead Poisoning

The harm done by lead may never go away. Too much lead in the body, or lead poisoning, in children can:

Hurt the brain, kidneys and nervous system
Slow down growth and development
Make it hard to learn
Damage hearing and speech
Cause behavior problems

Curious to learn how lead poisoning damages our brains? Watch this video

Health effects of lead poisoning in pregnant people and adults

In people who are pregnant, lead can increase the risk of miscarriage and cause babies to be born too early, too small, or with learning or behavior problems.

In adults, lead can cause high blood pressure and result in decreased fertility in men.

Your Questions Answered

Is there a way to be tested for lead?

We recommend that all children get tested for lead at ages 1 and 2. Talk to your child’s health care provider about testing your child for lead through a blood test. Depending on the result, the health care provider may recommend additional testing.

If you work with lead, we recommend that you get a blood lead test and discuss the results with your health care provider.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your health care provider about whether you should be tested for lead.

Let Little Emmett show how quick and easy lead testing is!

What happens if my child has a high lead test result?

If lead is detected in your child’s first capillary test (taken from a finger, heel, or toe) but is less than 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, you should have another test in six months to monitor the level of lead.

If your child’s first test is a capillary test result of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or higher, the result needs to be checked again using blood from a vein (often in the arm). The venous test result is more accurate. If the result of the second test is 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or higher, we will give you a call to talk about how your child may be coming in contact with lead and how to prevent it. We will send you information and can offer a home visit.

Learn more about your child’s lead test

Are there any resources on lead poisoning and how to prevent it?

Title	Description
Lead Poisoning Prevention	Read this fact sheet on lead poisoning prevention.
Finding Lead in Your Home	Find out where lead is found, if you or your family is at risk, and what you can do to protect your child from lead poisoning.
Henry and Fred Learn About Lead - Book	Teach young children about the dangers of lead poisoning and how they can protect themselves with this children's book.
Pregnancy and Lead Poisoning	Read this fact sheet on the health effects of lead on pregnant women and their unborn babies and how to protect babies from lead exposures before birth.
Lead in Paint	Read this fact sheet on how to find out if your home has lead paint and how to reduce your family’s risk of lead poisoning.
Lead in Drinking Water	Learn about lead in drinking water and how to test for it.
Lead in Soil	Read this fact sheet on possible sources of lead in the soil around your home, how to test your soil for lead, and how to protect children from lead in soil.
Healthy Yard: Is Your Yard Lead Proof?	Find out how to reduce or remove lead exposures from your yard with this EPA guide.
Lead-Safe Cleaning Guide	Check out tips on how to clean to get rid of lead dust and help prevent lead poisoning.
Lead and Your Job: What Adults Should Know About Lead Poisoning	Read this fact sheet on how adults can become exposed lead while on the job and how to reduce children’s exposure to lead that may be taken home from the job.
What Your Child's Lead Test Means	Read this fact sheet about the two different types of lead tests, what the results mean, and what to do when you receive the result.
Blood Lead Screening Guidelines	Review the guidelines for health care providers that outline when to test children for lead.
Henry and Fred Learn About Lead - Video	Here's a video version of the book Henry and Fred Learn about Lead.
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) Lead Guide	Learn about lead, how to protect your family from lead poisoning, and lead-safe renovating requirements for contractors.
Don’t Spread Lead	This step-by-step guide from the New England Lead Coordinating Committee is for do-it-yourselfers and offers advice on how to protect your family from lead poisoning during small renovation projects.
How to Do a Home Lead Dust Test	Watch this step-by-step video explaining how to test your home for lead dust.

Is there information for refugees and New Americans?

If you are a refugee or New American, you and your children may have come in contact with lead before coming to the United States.

Lead is found in common products — such as amulets, trinkets, pottery and candy. It can also be in cosmetics like Thanakha, Surma, Kajal and Kohl, and in traditional remedies like Gaw Mo Dah. If you brought these items into the United States or get them from friends or family, you can ask us if they are safe.

We recommend:

Every child between six months and 16 years old get tested for lead when coming to the United States.
One more test should be done three to six months later.
All children are tested at ages 1 and 2.

Your health care provider can test you or your family for lead or can tell you where to get one.