It is time to repaint the kids room. The old brittle paint on the door is peeling and the top-coat of baby blue latex paint is no longer your five-year old’s favorite color. Bright colors are the latest rage.

So you go to your local big-box hardware store to buy paint and other supplies. At the paint counter, you ask the clerk for advice so the work gets done right. You do not want to be repainting again next year.

Based on a study by Improving Kids’ Environment (IKE) in Indianapolis, Indiana, 80% of the time the clerk will give you extraordinarily dangerous advice and suggest that you sand the old paint from the door. If you follow it, your child – your family – could end up being lead poisoned. Worse yet, you may never know that your child was lead poisoned if your child is one of millions who live in homes that have lead-based paint but never get their blood tested for lead.

On March 16, IKE published its “Inept But At Your Service: Can Your Trust Your Hardware Store?” report. From September 2003 to March 2004, Improving Kids’ Environment staff made 45 visits to 39 retail hardware stores serving Indianapolis posing as customers. IKE’s goal was to assess how “kid friendly” the stores were based on the advice provided about lead safety and pesticides and the products sold. Go to www.ikecoalition.org/stores for a copy of the report.

Based on IKE’s criteria and analysis of four key indicators dealing with paint and leadhazards, the stores had an overall average score of 38%. The five major chains serving Indianapolis had an overall score as follows:

Lowes:  60%

Home Depot:  49%

Ace:  35%

Menards:  35%

Do-It-Best:  11%

The results are disturbing. They reflect a broad lack of basic knowledge on the part of store clerks and a careless disregard for the health and safety of the store’s customers – whether a contractor or a do-it-yourselfer.

80% of the paint department clerks recommended dry sanding to remove paint on a door to a kids’ room in a house built in the 1920s. Anyone following the advice would likely create lead dust that could poison a child. Children who are lead poisoned can be permanently brain-damaged possibly leading to learning disorders, lower IQ levels, attention deficit disorders, and violent behavior. Adults doing the work would be at serious risk of lead poisoning as well. In Indiana, a contractor following the advice would commit a Class D felony.

Even when asked explicitly whether lead-based paint might be a problem, 53% of the clerks continued to give dangerous advice. Overall, they were so poorly trained that some appeared to be reading the lead hazard warning information and guidance for the first time after being prompted by questions from IKE staff. Many advised IKE to ignore the paint can’s lead warning label. Only one clerk seemed to understand the danger posed by lead dust.

Even if a customer knew about lead hazards and was seeking more information or supplies to manage the lead-based paint safely, they would have little luck. No store had basic reference information on lead-safe painting, maintenance or renovation practices on hand. While the larger stores stocked most of the relevant supplies, the supplies were difficult to find and selection poor.

As a result of the report, the Marion County Health Department (MCHD) is forming a task force of stakeholders and store managers to identify solutions to the problem of bad advice that may result in a lead poisoned child.

For information about the report or how to duplicate it in your community, contact Tom Neltner at neltner@ikecoalition.org or 442-3973. For information about the task force, contact Dave McCormick at 221-2171 or dmccormi@hhcorp.org