Lead Abatement ?

Just spent a weekend...

... stripping lead paint from window sashes and pulling out 80-year old caulk while volunteering for a pre-school house renovation. Everyone thought I was nuts for wearing a 1/2-face respirator, nitrile gloves, etc.  (I brought my own)- they went for simple N95 masks, no gloves, etc. instead.



We had a talk about lead during lunch on the job site and one volunteer mentioned a neighbor whose kid got acute lead poisoning on account of contractors tracking lead dust from parts of the home under reconstruction into other parts of the home where there were babies crawling/hoovering the floor. So job-site cleanliness is one factor, as is occupancy. I'm sure none of the contractors did it intentionally, they just didn't know better. A good family friend of ours also got acute lead poisoning from a crumbling porch paint job when she was 2.



Many folk doing exterior and interior paint stripping pay no attention to where chips go, potentially contaminating a large area, when lead containment is easy - shop vacs not only contain the stuff so there is less mess to clean up afterward but also help with sanding by sucking away anything airborne that could get in the way. Yeah, having to handle a long hose is not a lot of fun but neither is picking up stray flakes in the back yard.



Lastly, I see a lot of this lead awareness re: sanding products as a increasing fear of industry re: falling down the same path as all the asbestos manufacturers. I.e. everyone and their uncle getting sued because some product at some time may have contained minute amounts of asbestos. Hence all the warnings on sandpaper. I'm not sure what the best answer is re: lead abatement awareness, what would you suggest instead of mandatory classes?