Lead paint

Numerous walls of old houses are covered with lead-based paint, a metal frequently used in the past to improve paintings quality. Ingesting lead particles is hazardous for health, especially for young children, whose are more sensible to lead poisoning, and who are more exposed to hand-to-mouth contact. Moreover, renovation works on these paints may expose the workers and the persons leaving in the house to major risks for their health. However, these risks can be minimized following security rules.

The hazards of lead exposure have been known since the 19th century, and the use of these paints has been progressively reduced since then. During the last century, certain forms of lead-based paint have been limited by the federal legislation, but it is in 2005 that the use of lead-paint was almost totally forbidden in Switzerland.