One of the biggest concerns when dealing with recycled materials is the presence of lead paint. When not properly taken care of lead paint can be a dangerous part of common materials. During Salvage Michigan’s acquisition recovery of recycled materials, it is always a top priority to test for lead.
Health Hazard of Lead
Lead is an element that occurs naturally. Lead is highly toxic and can easily poison someone when inhaled or ingested. 1. There are many hazards that come with the use of lead. Children with lead poisoning often have developmental delays and learning disabilities. Other symptoms in children include weight loss, hearing loss, along with many other signs of decreasing health. Symptoms in adults include high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, mood disorders, and memory loss. Exposure to lead before birth can lead to premature birth, slowed growth, and low birth weight. Even when exposed to lead in small amounts, lead can have lasting effects that never go away. A high amount of lead can even be fatal. It is important to be aware of the amounts of lead in materials because symptoms are hard to detect and often do not appear until dangerous amounts have already been ingested.2.
The Dangers
The original addition of lead to paint is because it created a soft and shiny texture. When mixed with paint, the finished product was glossy and easy to clean.1. This type of paint is common in older homes, which were constructed with lead paint before lead was deemed dangerous. One of the biggest threats of lead paint is not knowing it’s there. It is easy for children to get ahold of chipping paint and ingest it thinking that it looks like candy. Another major threat is improper removal. When sanded, lead particles go into the air and are inhaled. All of these dangers arise when lead is not tested for. This is why Salvage Michigan believes it is essential to test all older paint to ensure the safety of our customers and workers.
Solutions to Safe Treatment
The key to the safe treatment of lead paint is to not remove it yourself. If removal is necessary, it is important to get a certified professional to do the work. Lead paint only becomes dangerous when chipping, sanded, or otherwise disturbed. When this happens, the paint becomes unstable and becomes an air hazard.1. Besides hiring a professional for removal, the other safest solution is to apply an encapsulant. By adding an encapsulant onto an undamaged paint layer, it is encasing the toxins. Unfortunately, there are many downsides to this solution. The inability to apply the encapsulant to most surfaces is one of the biggest ones. Another is that you are unable to use it in areas that rub together or otherwise wear down on the encapsulant layer.3. This takes away many uses for materials. When deciding which method to use when encountering lead paint, Salvage Michigan always takes the utmost care to ensure the best outcome.
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Sources
1. Bennett, Sophia. “How to Recycle Lead.” RecycleNation, 1 May 2015, recyclenation.com/2015/05/how-to-recycle-lead/.
2. “Lead Poisoning.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 20 Dec. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717.
3. “Encapsulants: A Technique to Control Lead Paint Hazards.” New York State Department of Health, Mar. 2018, www.health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/renovation_repair_painting/encapsulants.htm.