Lead In Paint: How widespread is it in American Homes?

Federal Estimates on Homes with Lead (2001)

They also estimated that it would be too hard for them to enact a program to abate all the lead.

Updated Estimates of Homes with Lead-Based Paint

Since then, the estimate has dropped to about 38 million homes, or about 1 in 4 homes has lead-based paint. However, the number of homes with lead-containing paint is likely much higher.

1977 Lead Limit Regulations by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC)

In 1977 there was a limit set for the amount of lead in paint that was allowed to be sold by the CSPC or Consumer Product Safety Commission. Since only the CSPC regulates lead-containing paint and not the EPA, it flies under the radar.

1977

Historical Context: Lead Paint Dangers and Regulation

Although both scientists and health professionals knew about the dangers of lead and lead-based paints for centuries, it took this long for regulation to catch up. So how has regulation defined lead-based and lead-containing paints?

Definitions of Lead-Based and Lead-Containing Paint

Lead-based paint is a paint that contains more than .05% or 5000 parts per million lead. Lead-containing paint is any paint that contains less than that 5000 ppm amount but above 90, which is the limit. Both lead-based and lead-containing paints are illegal to sell today in the United States.

How to Determine if Your Home Contains Lead-Based Paint

If you are curious whether your home contains LBP or LCP, the first and lowest effort/cost step is to look up your home’s age. You can also review the Lead Paint Disclosure form you received when you purchased the house if it was built before 1978. However, there is no guarantee that the seller would disclose any information about lead in their home.

Safety Considerations for Homes Built After 1978

But the upside is if your home is built after 1978, you can rest assured that the likelihood lead-based paint is inside is remote. Although a DIY renovator could have had lead paint sitting around and touched up the interior after the fact—the stuff doesn't last forever, so the possibility is indeed remote.