Eco Geek: Lead Paint and Safe Gardens

We recently moved into a house with our young child and discovered lead paint. What should we do?
CLAIRE, LETHBRIDGE, AB

By Steve Brearton

The thing people don't realize about lead is, for it to be hazardous, it has to be ingested," says Wendy McNalley, consumer product safety officer at Health Canada. "So if it's just sitting there and stable, then it's not an issue." Morris McKay of Alamo High Pressure Cleaning services in Edmonton, whose company specializes in removing lead paint, adds that the homeowner can simply contain interior lead paint with panelling or wallpaper. "But if it's chipped or peeling off, then it has to be removed." Replacing baseboards or trim is an easy, safe and permanent solution, but stripping paint can create problems where none existed. Both McNalley and McKay advise having the work done by professionals who will either remove sections and work on them off-site or seal rooms properly when working in the home. Removing lead paint by sanding, scraping or using a heat gun unleashes dangerous, fine, lead dust particles and fumes (from the vaporized paint) throughout the house, which settle on everything including food, bedding and toys. The use of lead in paint has been regulated in Canada since 1976. Under the Hazardous Products Act, lead levels in indoor paint are limited to 0.5 percent by weight. According to McNalley, absorbing even low levels of lead may produce harmful short-term effects such as nausea and vomiting and long-term repercussions including impaired mental function and learning disabilities in children. If your house was built after 1980, you can feel confident it's free of lead paint. If it was built before, you may have a problem. If you're uncertain, send paint chips for testing to a qualified lab certifier such as the Standards Council of Canada. Avoid home-testing kits, which, according to Health Canada, are not fully reliable. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Commission has an excellent primer called Lead in Your Home, which you can download for free at cmhc.gc.ca. Just search for the primer by name.

I usually spread fallen leaves over my garden to help plants winter over, but someone warned me my wet leaves could attract mosquitoes, which might carry the West Nile Virus. Is what I'm doing safe?
JAKE SPINNEMAKER, WINNIPEG, MB

University of Winnipeg entomologist Terry Galloway says it's unlikely your unraked leaves will encourage bugs to breed. Mosquitoes require pools of water to multiply and a wet leaf wouldn't offer the necessary conditions for larvae to pupate and become adults. The only situation in which your leaves might entice mosquitoes, says Galloway, is if the foliage floats on top of standing water and becomes a food source. Remember, it's easier to stop mosquitoes from breeding than it is to reduce their numbers afterwards, so eliminate depressions or hollows where water can collect and make sure that man-made catch basins such as tires, buckets and kiddie pools are water-free. If you're going to spread leaves on your garden in the fall, remember to mulch them. Chopping them into bits small enough to let sunlight filter through will provide your garden and plant beds with additional nutrients and moisture. It will also help prevent erosion.

illustrations by Jenn Lawrence