I've been reading about lead poisoning and its history because I was shocked to find that lead as a staple ingredient in many residential building materials, including paint, was not banned until 1978.
The link above is a brief history of the awareness of the illness commonly referred to as Lead Poisoning, and it illustrates something I think is very interesting. It screams conspiracy. We've known how dangerous lead was for a very long time. Long before 1978, anyway.
I am always wary of giant corporations. I'm not the young man I once was who thought that all big businesses are evil, but when I'm in the water with them, as we all are all the time, you should be aware of what they are. When you a surfing in the Pacific Ocean, you should be aware of sharks and other perils that are posed to befall you at any moment.
Sometimes I feel like a lot of this kind of thing is still going on with the same culprits at the wheel. Big business, in this case the oil and energy companies, dampen the cries of those who raise flags regarding harmful materials, in this case lead. The real estate industry, older than the oldest industry, lets them fight the battles against cost and alarm. The builders are happy to have the work and stay quiet. Use lead paint. It's cheaper. The big businesses say it's safe. We know it's not rrreally safe, but use it anyway for now and while you still can.
This kind of thinking bothers me. Must we wait for regulation to do what's right?
As I become more immersed in this business, I hope that I needn't wait for regulatory measures to let my conscience keep it hand on the wheel. In fact, I resolve to make it so.
There are brownfields all over. There are uninhabitable buildings rotting because it would cost more to modernize them than tear them down. We can't leave the same artifacts and thought processes for the next generation.
It's good that you're covering these kinds of dangers. It's especially important because it is usually the poorest, and most vulnerable, who end up in places with lead paint, and it's often crumbling from the walls. Lead dust is very bad for people. Keep fighting the good fight!
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Wikipedia page, we're still dealing with dust from the exhaust of cars that used leaded fuel. It's still hard for me to believe that people let the gas/oil industry get away with all of it for so long.
ReplyDeleteAccording to NAR, about 15% of dwellings in America still have lead paint in them.