A Week for Happy, Lead-Free Kids By Esther Kwon Among the long
list of things my parents told me to be afraid of when I was a
child, lead-based paint was never one of them. Perhaps the
reason why I was able to grow up without worrying about what was
coating the swing set I played on and what kind of paint was on
the walls in my room was because of the federal regulations and
efforts made since the late 1970s to prevent children and adults
from being affected by lead-based paint poisoning. However, it
saddens me to know that there are still so many children who are
exposed to lead-based paint hazards in and near our homes. I
came to the EPA as an intern to learn about the Agency’s
regulatory rulemaking process for six months, but I did not
expect to gain so much knowledge about lead hazards and safety
practices. For example, I found out about the types of cognitive
disorders that could occur in children from lead poisoning, and
learned that even a few particles of lead in the dust are enough
to poison a child.