BALTIMORE HISTORY OF LEAD PAINT & LEAD POISONING : LANDLORD DEFENSE ATTORNEY CHARLES WARE

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Premier defense attorney Charles Jerome Ware is Maryland-based, nationally respected, and recognized by his many satisfied landlord clients as well as his legal peers as one of the top lead paint and lead poisoning defense lawyers in the United States. For an initial courtesy consultation, contact him at (410) 720-6129.  He can help you when you are being sued for lead paint or lead poisoning.


 Many people believe, and it could be argued, that lead (Pb) is everywhere in Baltimore --- not just in the old lead-based paint of pre-1978 built apartments and houses in the city. Much of this is true; lead(Pb) in Baltimore can be found in the air we breathe, drinking water, pipes and plumbing fixtures, dust, soil, playgrounds, sandlots,, food and drinks, toys, furniture cosmetics, pottery, ceramic, candies from Mexico, commercial buildings, industrial sites,  jobs and job sites, hobbies, jewelry, etc.  All of the above are possible sources of toxic lead.  Lead is ubiquitous in Baltimore; and it lasts, and lasts, and lasts.


Lead poisoning ("Plumbism") existed and was already known in Antiquity but was forgotten, at least in the literature, until the end of the Middle Ages, where it was mentioned sporadically. In the 19th century this disease, which reached epidemic proportions  during the period of industrialization, was "rediscovered.' Lead has been known and used in substantial quantities by mankind for over 6,000 years--- including civilizations of  Greece, Egypt, Spain, Rome, Hebrews, Phoenicians, etc.  Lead does not dissolve in water, does not dissipate, nor decay, nor burn. This "heavy" element (Atomic Number 82) just lasts ...and lasts ... and lasts.  And, in sufficient quantity, can be very harmful to the body; particularly in children under the age of  6 years.


The use of lead paint in the Baltimore probably began during Colonial times.
In 1951, Baltimore was the very first jurisdiction in the United States to ban the use of lead pigment in interior paint in Baltimore housing.
In 1955, the paint manufacturing industry, working with public health officials and organizations, adopted a voluntary national standard to prohibit, in effect, the use of lead pigments in interior residential paints.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, the use of  exterior lead-based paint declined significantly, and ended by the early 1970s.
In 1971, the Federal Lead Poisoning Prevention Act was passed.
In 1978, the Federal government banned consumer (including residential) uses of lead paint.
As the health hazards of lead poisoning became more and more apparent during the 1990s, the Federal government was forced to act more forcefully.
In 1992, the Federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, commonly known as TITLE X, was passed in an attempt to reduce the number of lead poisoning victims in the United States.
TITLE X is enforced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it enforces regulations related to TITLE X to residential rental property that were constructed before to 1978.