How to reduce lead exposure?

Tips for communities near the Exide Technologies battery recycling plant in Vernon, CA, from the Public Health Department of Los Angeles County.

• Keep your home dust free by wet mopping and wet wiping surfaces often.

• Wash hands and toys often

• Lower hand-to-mouth transfer of lead dust or soil by washing your children's hands after playing outside, before eating, and at bedtime.

• Wash their toys often.

• Wash hands and toys often

• If possible, cover areas of bare soil outside your home with grass, bark, wood chips, or gravel.

• Do not let children play on bare soil

• Playing on grass or sand can lower exposure to bare soils that may have lead.

• Watch your children play outside and avoid contact with bare soil.

• Do not let children eat bare soil.

• Take off shoes before coming into your home

• This helps to lower the chance of bringing lead into your home.

• Also note that pets may bring lead into the home from the soil outside

• Wash lead-tainted clothes separately.