R.I. Sues Makers of Lead Paint

Rhode Island has become the first state to sue former lead paint makers for promoting a product known to have health risks.

The federal government banned lead paint in 1978 because of the risk of physical and mental damage to exposed children, but at least 80% of Rhode Island’s homes were built before the ban went into effect. Rates of lead poisoning in the state are three times the national average, and one in five children is said to suffer from lead poisoning.

The National Paint and Coatings Assn. has said that most companies cut off lead-based paint manufacturing in the 1950s. The state has sued manufacturers and an industry trade group in state Superior Court and seeks damages for lead-poisoned children and lead-ridden buildings.

Named in the suit are American Cyanamid, Atlantic-Richfield, DuPont, O’Brien Corp., Glidden Co., Sherwin-Williams Co., SCM Chemicals and the New Jersey-based Lead Industries Assn.

In the lawsuit, the state claims the defendants sold lead paint despite knowledge of its toxic effects on children.

The U.S. ban came more than 20 years ago when researchers linked lead-based paint, which they determined could be ingested as paint chips and dust, to severe health problems.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are about 64 million homes contaminated with lead paint in the country and at least 1.7 million children have unsafe lead levels in their blood. Lead poisoning is considered the top environmental health hazard for children under the age of 6.