Renovating or restoring an old home? Lead alert!! Most Australian residential dwellings built before 1970 were coated with paints that contained lead. Exposure to even small amounts of lead in old paint coatings presents a serious health risk, to both the occupant and to any contractor, if and when the old paint coatings are disturbed by either hand or power tools. Dangerous levels of lead may be present in paint dust, paint flakes or paint waste which if swallowed or inhaled, can be very harmful to humans. Lead is a heavy metal poison that accumulates in the body, It is especially dangerous to children, pregnant & nursing woman. Before any maintenance work or surface preparation of old paintwork commences, a test kit should be used to detect if lead is present or not. If lead is detected, stringent precautions will need to be employed to prevent any contact with lead-paint dust and debris so engaging a trained and qualified professional contractor is highly recommended.