LANDLORD DEFENSE:Sources and Levels of Lead in Baltimore Soil

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If you are a landlord who is being sued for lead poisoning, contact Attorney Charles Ware at (410) 720-6129 or (410) 730-5016. Attorney Charles Ware is a premier landlord lead poisoning defense attorney who is consistently recognized by his many satisfied clients as well as his legal peers as one of the top landlord lead poisoning defense attorneys in the United States.

Let's be clear. Lead is virtually everywhere in inner-city Baltimore. We know from the many claims made against residential landlords that lead can be found in many pre-1978 built apartments and houses. But, that's not the whole picture. One of the several additional sources of toxic lead in Baltimore is the soil.

Baltimore is a traditionally heavily- industrial and  consumer-prolific city with many pre-1978 built apartments and houses. When lead is deposited into Baltimore's soil from industrial use, residential renovations, commercial and government building changes, major construction and excavation, consumer products, and other anthropogenic (man and nature) sources, it  simply does not decay or biodegrade, and it is not rapidly absorbed by plants and trees.  Therefore, lead remains in the soil at elevated levels.

Lead is estimated to have a scientific half-life of residence in soil of over 1,000 years. That means this metal is going nowhere during our lifetimes.  Lead just lasts,  and lasts,  and lasts.
 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that at 23 %, or over 18 million, of the privately-owned homes in the United States constructed before 1980 have soil-lead levels above 400 parts per million (ppm); and that 3 percent, or 2.5 million, have levels exceeding 2,999 ppm; and that three percent, or 2.5 million, exceed 5,000 ppm.

Lead in residential soil in Baltimore generally comes from several different sources, including abandoned and some current industrial sites, lead-based paint in pre-1978 built residential units
(houses and apartments), old demolished or remodeled commercial and government buildings, etc.
The sources of lead in soil are plentiful in  Baltimore.