Newly recognized pathways of exposure to lead in the middle-income home

Most official childhood lead-poisoning prevention efforts focus on children living in poor neighborhoods in older houses. But a current trend in home decorating that promotes the use of expensive antiques or used artifacts with chipped, chalky, or peeling paint may be exposing a different population of children to lead. The objectives of the research reported here were (1) to assess the extent to which antiques with damaged paint are promoted in the popular home-decorating print media and over the Internet and (2) to gauge whether a casual shopper is apt to purchase lead-hazardous antiques in the United States. The study found that antiques that tested positive for lead on a qualitative test were easily purchased from antique stores throughout the United States. Many of the items were toys or other items that would be attractive to children.