Here is the latest skinny:
Technically, right now I should be doing lead abatement since Bedwe'er and Mrs. are out of town. But I am unwinding tonight after teaching 13th graders photography.
Here is a report in a mix of scientific lingo as I remember my HS physics and the patois of upstate NY:
So the state senior sanitarian (real title) came by with this very cool gizmo that had a chunk of Cobalt 47? (47, 48 whatever it takes) inside which directs a beam of radiation (we're already eating a bunch of lead, so what's a little radiation right?) at the paint surface. The radiation gets the lead's various electron shells all jiggy (this is a slight departure from pure science) and the machine reads the jiggyness of the K shell and the L shell, thus determining how much lead is in the paint. I think this is in µ/cm2.
The reading of the K shell indicates the lead level below the surface and the L shell indicates the surface. I think.
When I say cool gizmo, the business end had to be cooled to –40şf. Anyway, The guy measured just about everything in the house and the levels were from .8µ/cm2 to 40 or 50µ/cm2. The house is over 150 years old. See map from 1886.
I suppose if I were body grinding piles of sinkers in the kitchen, there'd be more lead around but the paint chips he pointed out were so damn tiny, smaller than poppyseed tiny, that I figure I need glasses.
So I ma supposed to strip all the window sash and door jambs and repaint. Also the stairs. Tomorrow is paint blitz.
Then the nurse came to do a developmental eval on Bedwe'er who is 10 months, t o be sure he is not developmentally delayed. So he checks out at 12 months. Which leads me to wonder: If he hadn't chowed all that lead would he be writing his piano concerto about now (or advising bush on foreign policy–did I just type that?) or is all this lead stuff a big red herring?
It seems that developmental delays and high lead levels are most prevalent in inner city/ poor families. I wonder how much good nutrition plays a role in this?
The other thing I wonder is (and this is where I get cynical) maybe it is safe to go after lead in a big public way since no major corporations are using it much. It is a kind of safe target, any culpability is lost in the mists of time.
Frankly, I'm much more concerned about antibiotics, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides in my water than a bit of lead. I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing anyone from the state or federal gov. getting their knickers in a twist over what monsanto or dupont want to do. But now until Bedwe'er's lead levels go down to <9µ/dl he has to have blood drawn every 12 weeks.
Just to put it in perspective where we live is in the heart of dairy country, I can smell when fertilizer is applied to the corn fields around here (I don't mind it, I actually like the apple cidery smell, just want to give an indication of proximity) The soil around here is clay and sand, and the water table is about 12 feet down.
Oh did I mention that there is no town sewage? We have a 150 yr old cess pit, as do most of our neighbors.
I envy your water filter, right now we have a PUR tap thing. Maybe better than nothing.
So tomorrow is Methylene Chloride day! Hooray!
