LEAD ALERT! DANGER IN THE ATTIC!
If you live in an older house in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane your
ceiling cavity probably contains high levels of lead. Years of pollution
has caused a build up of lead particles in the dust which collects in
the attic.
Lead testing has shown that most older houses have high lead levels
in the ceiling dust. In some suburbs they are as high as 20,000 PPM
which is over 60 times the safe limit of 300 parrs per million.
CEILING DUST CAN CONTAIN:
. Lead
. Pesticides
. Chemical pol1utants
. Rat, mouse & cockroach dung
. Dust mites
. Asbestos particles
. Formaldehyde
. Other heavy metals
RENOVATING TIME IS DANGER TIME.
Having the ceiling dust professionally removed should be a priority
before any work begins. This will avoid trades-people contaminating
themselves and the surrounding environment as they work.
IMPORTANT:
Dust should be removed before installing attic ladders, skylights or
breaching the ceiling in any way. Once in your home the lead particles
will pass straight through the Filters of normal vacuums and be easily
inhaled.
Lead Alert Pty Ltd uses trailer mounted machines fitted with special
HEPA filters. The dust is collected in a drum on the machine and is
disposed of (drum and all) at an E-P,A, approved Toxic Waste Centre.
Because the dust from pollution fallout is so fine the lead particles
are easily absorbed into our bodies. This is especially so for children
who ingest lead at 4 times the rate of adults. Lead attacks the immune
and central nervous system- In children, who are still developing, even
small quantities can cause impaired brain function, loss of IQ points
and affect their memory and learning ability. In addition to Lead and
other toxins the dust also harbours allergy causing dust mites and lice
from bird nests.
FIRE HAZARD:
In some areas (especially in houses near railway lines or where there
were coal-burning generators) ceiling dust can be a major fire hazard.
The amount of coal fly ash in the dust can make it extremely combustible,
Insulating your home?
We believe it is extremely foolhardy to lay new insulation amongst layers
of toxic dust. Insulation that has become contaminated must, invariably,
be discarded once the home- owner becomes aware of the potential health
risk, the dust poses. Wherever possible, Lead Alert accesses the ceiling
space via the roof to avoid contamination of the home. Once the entry
hole has been cleared it makes sense to insulate at the same time to
avoid the trouble of trying to get bulky insulation through the manhole.
Lead Alert can supply and install the insulation of your choice-
Our services include:
. Toxic Dust extraction
. Insulation: (Supply only or install) Polyester / Wool / Astro-foil
(Air-cel1)
. Insulation Removal
. Aircraft Noise Reduction Acoustic Batts