Tim - I'm not sure the lead paint issue was primarily due to carelessness - maybe more to the 'free market' system in place and the products available at the time. So many homes - so much paint - many sold by reputable builders and contractors - maybe not all by reputable mega companies - but the reality is that lead can be a serious health hazard for growing kids. Yes, it is fear based - and knowledge is power in this case. Overblown? Maybe... but the funny thing is that these things show up so much later than when they were initially done...


The problem is lifetime of a home / lifetime of a child / vs. short term interests of a home owner - or simple lack of knowledge by a tenant, owner, or contractor making a choice. A homeowner may simply 'risk it' and go for it - getting dust all over the place that a visitor or families child might inhale, or eat (paint chips) - or they may certify in a property disclosure that they removed the lead... leaving the problem for someone to inherit later on down the life of the home or building. At least requiring a trained contractor to do the work starts to form a chain of custody so future owners (10-20-60) years down the road can see what efforts / chemicals / processes have been made to their investment - and what sins of the previous owner's / builders / etc. they will inherit.

We've gone down the road of a chemical filled world - we are now starting to deal with the consequences of it - lead based paints, the killing off of lakes (Champlain here in VT) because of fertilizer run off, etc. etc.



And I like the start of your mandate...


'Do no harm.'
is way better than
'Do the least harm.' (we aren't close to this now)
or
'Regulate how many people you can poison and kill (slowly) before the pitchforks come out...' - which is sort of where we are now.

To paraphrase a speech I heard by the architect William McDonough - "If a man kills another man we call it murder, if a corporation kills or injures hundreds or thousands of men and women over their lifetime - (slowly, because we regulate how much poison you can pump into the air, the water, the ground, and our products) - we call it progress, the market, and the cost of doing business..."

I'm sure at one time lead based paint was seen as the next great thing in home improvement.