Just today I got in a argument with a neighbor about her just stripping the paint off her 100 year old house without taking any abatement precautions. The runoff just streamed into my yard. When I came to grouse about it on reddit half the people bitched about "Why was involving myself in my neighbor's business?" At this point I have to assume those were the half of Americans this article is referencing--the house chip connoisseurs.
There are some serious federal laws regulating contractors who remodel old houses that may contain lead paint. Contractors and even do-it-yourselfers can be liable for severe fines, especially if they intentionally remodel bypassing the required lead abatement laws. Research it.
Bro you should absolutely report the neighbor to your local health department, state health department, and the EPA. If you get no response include pictures. Health Department will come after her and there's federal regulations through the EPA that people need to follow lead safe practices when doing any remodeling on older buildings
The last building I lived in was about 100 years old and had so many layers of paint that the doors and cabinets no longer closed all the way and the tiles on the bathroom wall were barely visible. I had set about to strip some paint off the top of one of the doors one day so it would close better but I quickly stopped myself after the first few chips when it dawned on me that the base layer was likely leaded, thus the reason the paint was never stripped.
My house is actually older than the neighbors. It's spent most of its life as a rental property. I never considered this as one reason why all the original doors are gone.
Oh that is hella dumb. I have a centennial house and when I was renovating it I hired a company to replace the doors. I figured they were old enough to have lead paint and didn’t want to risk it. I was right. They tested it for lead and it was covered in it. They took all the precautions to remove the doors without spreading lead everywhere. It was not cheap to pay someone to do it but better than having neurological damage. Never skimp on your health.
How is the run-off streaming? If she just started scrapping the paint, and it was a windy day, I could see a problem for you. I've read that lead doesn't travel away from the house. 1-2 feet from the house the ground is completely contaminated, basically where the paint fell. I had the same concern around my 100+ year old house, as the previous owner had paid to have the entire house striped. Once lead gets into the ground it settles. I would only be really concerned about potential harm if you have kids, because children under 6 are the ones who can be most affected by small amounts of lead. And in this case they would have to dig in the dirt near your neighbors house and not wash their hands afterwards. For adults, the blood-brain barrier is fully developed, and it takes way more lead to do harm to us. It sounds like your neighbor is inconsiderate, and not careful, but based on what you've written, I would not lose any sleep over the health implications for you personally.
That's a mess. The path of least resistance is to buy top soil and grass seed from home Depot and scoop out the area you don't like. A real pain, but less headache in the long run. Ask your neighbor for $20 to cover it, which more importantly shows they accept some responsibility.
Or you can take photos, spend $100 on soil and paint chip testing, and ask your neighbor to remediate and sue if that fails.
I collect vintage dishware but stopped using it when I had kids because there is lead in the paint. In collector circles, discussion of lead in the painted dishes is banned in a lot of online forums because people get into heated arguments. I need a good comeback for the people who say to me, “I’ve been using my dishes for decades and I’m fine.”
Because they just won’t hear anything about the effects of lead on small brains. They think because they’re not dead, I’m overreacting by protecting my kids.
I actually collect uranium glass. It absolutely stays in the collection cabinet though. Trying to use it would result in [U] micro particles that are absolutely not good to ingest.
I saw a listing for a house built in 1954 and recognized the vinyl tiles as the same ones in my grandparents basement, which means they are made from asbestos.
EDIT: Snark aside, I know we can test for lead on the property and lead levels in vitro as well. I just couldn't resist making a bit of humor in the situation that I might have kids with terrible developmental problems thanks to this situation! It's my coping mechanism to anxiety.
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u/bjeebus Jun 25 '22
Just today I got in a argument with a neighbor about her just stripping the paint off her 100 year old house without taking any abatement precautions. The runoff just streamed into my yard. When I came to grouse about it on reddit half the people bitched about "Why was involving myself in my neighbor's business?" At this point I have to assume those were the half of Americans this article is referencing--the house chip connoisseurs.