About one in six children in America have high levels of lead in their blood, according to the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. You may have lead around your home without being aware of it because you cannot see, taste, or smell lead.

• Since bodies are still developing, children are more easily and severely injured by lead than adults. The long term effects of lead in a child can be severe. They include learning disabilities, decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, and even brain damage.

• Lead can be found in the dust, paint, or soil in and around your home, or in your drinking water of food. Chipping or peeling paint, lead water pipes, lead fixtures, and certain hobbies can bring lead into your home and poison your family. The most common cause of lead poisoning is exposure to lead-based paint or dust in deteriorating houses.

• Most homes built before 1978 used lead-based paint.

• If you are pregnant, lead can be passed from you to your unborn baby.

Texas Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Programa para la prevención de intoxicaci—n de plomo en la niñez de Texas

Toy Industry Association, Inc. - info from the toy industry and current issues with lead in toys.

More information from the Texas Poison Center Network