Lead Paint/Pipes: Old Town Alexandria/ Rosemont area?? (Washington: how much, houses)

[water0808]

Hello

We live in Old Town Alexandria, but in a newer building. We are thinking of buying an older home in Old Town, Alexandria, or the Rosemont or Del Ray area.

We have an 8 year old child. So lead pain/ piping is a concern for us. But we want to know what can be done and how much of a problem it is.

What we understand:
-It's more of a risk to younger kids who eat paint chips, are on floor etc more.
-Most homes have been renovated and thus lead paint has been painted on top of extensively.
-many kids live there and I haven't heard of widespread lead paint epidemic there.

What concerns us:
- walls contain lead. How much of a problem are they if you paint on top and make sure none of it flakes? Can it still dust into the air magically behind all that paint at bases of walls?
-Window trims and door trims crack and dust off a lot and this concerns me. I think many windows are new there which is good but if not, can we hire and EPA standard home repair person to strip the paint off the window/ door trimmings?
- what % of these home still have lead pipes? Is it super pricey to rip them out? Or does a good water filter that takes out lead do the job?
- That the soil has a lot of lead in it. Our child will play outside. She will track it into the home or it will blow in the air into the home. We can take off shoes but how much of a concern is it in the soil? How pervasive is it?
-Can we find out if renovations done buy the seller followed EPA standards? I worry they fixed it up themselves and dusted lead into the air and thus throughout the home.

Anyway, any opinions? People who live there what have they heard/ know? I know many would say if you're concerned don't move in. But instead we want real opinions/ data and want to know what others have done to make it safer. We want to make an educated decision moving forward.

Thanks so much!

[robbobobbo]

My house was built in the 1930s and has original copper pipes for drinking water and black cast iron, not lead, pipes for the boiler heating and waste water.

You're right in that many of the homes have had replacement windows put in. Window replacement contractors don't typically follow EPA guidelines for lead removal such as plastic sheeting, respirators, booties, etc, from what I've witnessed (including my own home).

Keep in mind that some Rosemont and Del Ray houses have asbestos siding, or that such siding still sits under a newer siding. From what I've read, this is fine as long as it's undisturbed. Of course, there are plenty of homes that don't have this siding, too.

I've never spoken with anyone concerned about lead levels in the soil.

As you say, there are many kids growing up in Del Ray and Rosemont, as there have been for generations. If you want hard data on lead in the city, maybe contact the city government? I think your concern might outweigh the actual risk.

[Ffxdata]

You are right to be concerned with lead especially since you have children in the house. Lead stays in children's bodies much longer as they cannot clean it out as readily as adults. Unfortunately, it also goes well beyond infants eating paint chips. There are some great online resources since it is such a health risk.

Lead Poisoning

About lead poisoning in the DC area: DC's Lead Poisoning Problem - Washingtonian

Information from Alexandria: https://www.alexandriava.gov/code/in....aspx?id=32730

[HomesRAH]

Hi Water0808,

You're a step ahead of about 75% of the people I meet, in that you're aware and concerned, for what that's worth. Any home built in Virginia prior to 1978 is likely, or more likely, to have lead paint...somewhere, if not everywhere. Homes with older plumbing still in the place may have lead solder at the pipe joints. How concerned should one be? Concerned enough, especially if you have small children, to pay attention to things and take action.

You are correct in saying that, usually, a home will have so many layers of paint over top of original layer(s), that one would have to really work at trying to produce lead dust or chips. Window trim and sills may (or may not) be somewhat more problematic, but those too get a ton of new paint over the years. So as far as walls and doors and windows, you can either make sure there is good, more modern paint-coverage in those areas, or hire the paint-stripping company--which I assure you, will be enormously expensive, if they are following procedures.

I don't know offhand what percentage of old homes have older plumbing, potentially with lead solder present, but they are out there. That is often (but not always) easily discovered with a visual or deeper inspection, and negotiations will determine what will or might be done about it, if anything. Yes, it can be expensive to remove and replace plumbing pipes, no matter what the reason, and yes, there are numerous filters on the market that claim to remove lead. I don't know a thing about their relative effectiveness, and would frankly rather remove the problem than mask it.

As to the soil containing lead, I do not believe this is a pervasive problem in our area, but suppose specific locations could have issues. A soil test by local extension services is pretty cheap help for that. Lead in the air we breathe is another possible issue, certainly, but also discoverable and fixable to a large degree. Check out this site for good info: Lead Poisoning & Lead Exposure Testing | EMSL - Lead Testing | Indoor Air Quality

I also share an EPA pamphlet with my clients, whenever the home is pre-1978. You can find that here

Hope all that helps, and good luck!
Richard H.