WEB REVIEW: FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS

Lead resources
Get the Lead Out

A advocacy group provides background and current coverage on lead poisoning.

BY CHRIS LEPORINI

Mold has recently attracted the lion’s share of media attention as the pollutant of the moment, but lead poisoning poses a continued, significant health threat, especially to children. Recent court cases in New Jersey and Rhode Island have underlined the need for homeowners and communities to educate themselves about the issue. As a real estate salesperson, you’re legally responsible for providing customers with paperwork on lead-based paint, but what do you do if they press you for additional information? From a legal standpoint, you shouldn’t give customers direct advice on potential lead contamination. Rather, you should steer them toward resources they can use to educate themselves. The Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning Web site is an excellent source for information on the dangers that lead poisoning poses to children, as well as how to remove it. Since exposure to lead can have especially serious consequences for children under six, including stunted growth, impaired learning ability, and behavioral disorders, parents purchasing older homes that might contain lead would be particularly interested in the site.
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The Alliance is an advocacy group that brings together members from fields such as public health, environmental protection, and affordable housing in an effort to safeguard children from exposure to household environmental health hazards. As you might expect, the site contains a comprehensive collection of background on lead poisoning and its effects, including “About Lead Poisoning” which is basically a FAQ on the issue. The section also contains steps to reduce exposure to lead, such as keeping play areas dust-free; wiping window ledges with all-purpose cleaners; encouraging children to play in sand and grassy areas instead of dirt, which might contain lead particles; and making children wash their hands often to keep them from ingesting lead particles. Additionally, users can download PDF brochures, in both English and Spanish, that detail how to minimize health risks from lead-based paint.

The “Painting and Rehab” section of the site contains tips on how to increase safety when undertaking remodeling projects that might involve old paint. This includes advice for both do-it-yourself projects and questions to ask prospective contractors to evaluate their reliability.

The site can also help you and your clients stay up to date on the latest legal cases dealing with lead liability and research on lead policy. The bimonthly “Alliance Alert” online newsletter rounds up briefs on current court decisions, publications, and legislation. The “Policy Solutions” section examines, in greater detail, government initiatives to control lead contamination and treat lead poisoning in children. This includes links to government agency sites such as the Environmental Protection Action, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department for Housing and Urban Development, as well as original site content. The “Publications” section contains brochures and reports from the Alliance, some of which are available free online. These include materials targeted toward laypeople, such as “Childhood Lead Poisoning: Blueprint for Prevention,” as well as more technical scientific studies.

Lead-based paint poses serious risks for owners of older homes. Although you can’t provide them with direct advice, you are on the front lines of informing them about these potential health hazards. One good way to do this is to direct them to the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning site, so they can understand the importance of getting the lead out.
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More Resources
Full Disclosure , Newton C. Marshall, October 2002.
Web Review: EPA Indoor Air Quality homepage , Chris Leporini, October 2001.
Web Review: Healthhouse.org , Chris Leporini, October 2002.
Books in Brief: The Healthy House , Chris Leporini, October 2001.

Suggest a Site For Review
Every week, REALTOR® Magazine Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites useful to your business and off-hours lives. Have a favorite real estate Web site that you would like to see reviewed? Send your suggestions to Chris Leporini at mediatech@realtors.org. All decisions on which sites will be reviewed are completely at the discretion of REALTOR® Magazine Online's editorial staff. Please note: this column does not review individual practitioner or brokerage sites.

The column's focus includes free sites, as well as sites that charge for goods and services, but which still offer a free component of practical, sustained value to real estate practitioners, such as a free newsletter or regular news information.

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REALTOR® Magazine Online's "Web Review" summarizes the content of Web sites that may be of interest to members. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for, and nothing in the Web site profile shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of, the web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in this profile was correct and accurate as of the time it was prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web site. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web site prior to any use of Web site, its content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the member's intended purpose.

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