Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/ask-dr.-sue-lead-paint-poisoning-from-playground-equipment/5011379/
In the fall of 1996, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced what many had suspected - on many playgrounds, painted playground equipment poses a lead poisoning hazard. In 1978, the CPSC banned the sale of paint for consumer use that contained more than 0.06% lead by weight. However, paint containing lead is still available for commercial use. Some playground equipment was coated with paint containing lead that is now flaking off. In some cases, equipment may have been repainted several times. As with surfaces in houses, the top paint layer may not contain lead, but the older, under layers may be poisonous.The problem is widespread. In tests of paint on older playground equipment in cities across the United States, 20 of 26 playgrounds in 11 of 13 cities in 11 states had lead levels over the CPSC 0.06% level. Of these, 16 playgrounds had equipment with levels over the 0.5%. The 0.5% level is identified in federal law as the threshold for priority for hazard reduction. In addition to the tests done by the CPSC, of 19 cities in 9 states and the District of Columbia which did their own lead testing on 223 playgrounds, 11 cities reported lead paint on ...