Re: Re: Air filters/ lead

[Guest guest]

This post was very helpful. Thank you so much for the information and the very

helpful links. It definitely gives me a lot to think about regarding our older

home vs a newer one and renovations. I'm glad your son is doing well.

Aggie

Re: Air filters/ lead

Perhaps interesting to note that autism is a new epidemic, and a rarer

disorder when children were being raised in those pre-1978 homes.

To provide balance, we recently sold our 20-year-old home and moved into a

100-year-old home. We wanted to live in a home without newer building materials.

Our older home has dramatically less synthetic building materials than our newer

home had, and more natural wood (using real lumber, not particle board or

plywood).

My son is making progress at a much accelerated rate. We continue with

biomedical intervention of course, but his gains are faster and greater than

they ever were before. Most people are amazed at the difference in him... and

we're much happier in our surroundings - I love creaky plank flooring :-)

One good thing about older homes, is that they have been around long enough

for us to know what the dangers are, and we can protect ourselves. Newer homes

have many unknown dangers, and can harbour chemicals/toxins not well tested (if

at all).

Links of interest:

Vinyl flooring - double rate of autism

http://tinyurl.com/d5v7hl

From http://www.autisticspectrumconsulting.com/air.htm

" The older a home is, the more likely it is to be made of inert, non-toxic

materials which were locally acquired (apart from a few exceptions such as

asbestos insulation and heavy metals in paint), and the more likely it is to

have significant air exchange with the outdoors. On the other hand, the newer a

home is, the more likely it is to have vinyl flooring, wall-to-wall synthetic

carpets over foam under-pads over unfinished press-board, laminate flooring,

vinyl blinds, particle board furniture, foam-stuffed upholstery, synthetic

decorating fabrics coated with flame retardants and finishes, formica

countertops, and other like products, and the less likely it is that the house

will have significant air exchange with the outdoors.

What all of these new building and decorating materials have in common is the

toxic gases which they release into the air -- and the closer a person gets, the

denser the fumes are. Some evidence has accumulated in Europe that SIDS (Sudden

Infant Death Syndrome) can be prevented when babies sleep on non-toxic bedding.

Infants, toddlers, and children spend almost all their time very close to the

floor, or cuddled into drapes and furniture. In addition to this, teething

infants in the last two generations have been given plastic toys to chew on

(plastics emit hormone disruptors and other substances of concern).

Electromagnetic fields caused by electrically-powered equipment can also disturb

health; all the body's cells and systems use tiny electromagnetic signals to

communicate, and these can be disrupted.

Replace toxic products with non-toxic ones, coat the open surfaces of particle

board, press-board, and laminate with a sealer, improve your home's air

exchange, grow a large indoor garden, unplug any electronics when not in use,

and lobby the building industry for non-toxic standards. "

More on flooring:

http://www.healthyflooring.org/alternatives.html

>

> Hillary and others,

>

> Our story is a LONG one, but basically we were told, believe and

expereinced that if you live in a pre 1978 house, espeically a very old house.

You just have lead, period. I am sure there are exceptions, but they are few

and far between. Even if it covered, you can still ahve issues. OUr house was

newly painted when we moved in. After 7 or so years, still no chipping paint,

etc, we started having issues.. CHri's kidney's came out of remission ( we

learned his near death as a child wa probably due to lead) then Emma was so

sick. WE did everything you are supposed to do... tested the house with home

kits, tested Emma.. etc. Then when we found out she had all the symptoms of

heavy metal issues, we did a provoked urine and she was off the charts ( 76).

The we called in a state agency and they tested.... 49% of the surfaces in the

hosue were lead ( covered). The lead dust levels ( and we keep a clean house)

were off

> the charts. It came from the opening and closing of doors, cupboards and

windows ove the years.. even though there were replacement windows. WE moved out

, it was a rental) they abated the house. when we were out of the hosue we got

better, not all better, b ut we improved. WE moved back in and started

getting sick again. WE moved to our current location, in a 1988 condo with air

and water flitration. I will NEVER live in a pre 1978 house again. The lead

did so much damage. It was long term, low level exposure, whihc doens't show

up on traditional blood tests, and now the experts beleive can actually be more

damaginng than acute exposure. It's a hard thing. I am thankful that I didn't

own the home. On the other hand, the landlord has no repsonsibility to help

us. the lead laws in maine are quite weak.

> If you live in a pre 1978 house, there are things you can do. Call and get

your house tested offically. you will get a " Map " ( list " ) of exactly where

the lead is, how bad it is, and what the dsut levels are. make sure you ahve

a hapa filter on your vaccuum.. we sucked in and spuede out lead dust for 13

years when we were cleaning. Do make sure all paint is covered. Check doors,

windows, etc, adn keep window still and areound doors extra clean ( use that

vacc witht he hepa) and make choices about where and how your kids play in the

house. If your childrne are past the mouthing stage, one of the best things

youc an do is make sur ethey wash their hand well, often throughout the day and

especially before eating. If a all possible, I persoanlly would move. If you

can't educate yourself about the dangers and how to best protect your family.

It's that low level lead that will get you. Hope this helps, and pleas

> eexcuse the typos, I've got something going on with my typing and I mix up

letters and spaces and stuff.

> Hope thsi helps. I would eb glad to talk with anyone who wants more info.

My firends call me the lead Diva, I know so much.... email me priviately and we

can make a plan to talk, I talk better and faster than I type.

>

> Good luck everyone!

>

> Ellen

> Mom to Emma

>

>