We held the first two stops of the Angie’s List Lead Safety Tour last weekend. The events in Indianapolis and the Bay Area attracted a lot of families AND contractors, but we want to have even more for our events in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and St. Louis on October 6.
One of my favorite quotes from the two events came from Alex Dongallo, a contractor in the Bay Area who summed up the reason we’re focusing so much time and attention on raising awareness. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Alex said the workshop he took was “eye opening."
'I've worked with a lot of painting contractors, and I think many of them need to be better educated,' he said. 'I think lead poisoning is something that needs to be better addressed. A lot of us don't think about how someone could get lead poisoning from work we do. We all need to be safer.'
Joe and I have lived in older homes that we’ve improved, and I’ve already had my kids tested to be sure their lead levels aren’t elevated. I also rejected a contractor who I’d interviewed to do work in my basement, which I was concerned might have lead paint. When he told me he couldn’t help with addressing issues regarding lead paint, I knew I needed a different contractor.
If you have kids and you live in an older home, please get the training you need to keep yourself away from lead dust. And have your kids tested either by your pediatrician, the local health department or at one of our Lead Safety tour events.
If you'd like to see what the news media is saying about the tour, here are two stories from last weekend.
Workshops, free testing at lead-poisoning prevention tour kickoff
Local Company Offers Lead Testing, Safety Training