The Lead Busters Club

The Adventures of the Lead Busters Club was written by Joan Bothell, Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering; Maureen T. Mulroy, School of Family Studies; and Mary-Margaret Gaudio, Cooperative Extension System, University of Connecticut.

INTRODUCING THE

  Sherman, 

 Henry, 

 Agatha, and  

 Elisa do not know.

• Lead  

  

   paint may be on old  

  

   windows and old  

  

   doors."

• Lead  

  

   paint may be on old  

  

   stairs and railings."

• Lead paint may be on old  

  

   porches."

• Lead  

  

   paint  

  

   dust and  

  

  flakes may be in places where workers are fixing old houses."

• Lead paint  

  

   dust and  

  

  flakes may be in the dirt around old houses."

• "Never, never touch paint  

  

  flakes."

• "Never, never touch paint  

  

   dust."

• "Ask a grownup to wash away lead paint  

  

  flakes and  

  

   dust with a damp soapy rag."

• "Wash your  

  

   hands before you eat and after you play."

• "Leave your  

  

   shoes at the door and wear  

  

   socks or  

  

   slippers in your house."

• "Eat healthy foods, like lowfat  

  

   milk and  

  

   yogurt,  

  

   fruits and  

  

   vegetables,  

  

   beans, and lean  

  

   meat."

Henry, Elisa, and Sherman agree.

Sherman says, "OK, Lead Busters, let’s go looking for lead." So they all go out and look for lead in their neighborhood.

The Lead Busters’ Neighborhood

How many lead dangers can you find?

Things to look for:
paint flakes and paint dust

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How many lead dangers can you find? (Circle the lead hazards you find)

Make your own lead-safety poster on a separate sheet of paper. You can draw or write anything that will help other people learn about how to be safe from lead. When you are finished, give the poster to your teacher, parent, or guardian.

Agatha Fights Lead

Sherman says, "OK, Lead Busters. We found some dangerous lead. What should we do now?"

Agatha says, "Let’s tell some grownups about what we found."

Henry says, "What else?"

Agatha says, "Let’s stay away from lead paint flakes and lead paint dust."

Elisa says, "What else?"

Agatha says, "Let’s wash our hands before we eat and after we play."

Sherman says, "What else?"

Agatha says, "Let’s leave our shoes at the door and wear socks in the house."

Henry shouts, "Or slippers!"

Sherman says, "What else?"

Agatha says, "Let’s eat healthy foods like milk and oranges and broccoli and chicken."

Elisa says, "Broccoli? Yuck. Do I have to?"

All four yell, "We can be lead-safe. We’re the Lead Busters!"

Ms. Marble says, "Shhhhh."

Let’s Think About It

What can you do if you see lead dangers in your neighborhood?
Write your answers below:
 

The Lead Busters' Clubhouse Game

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7. Elisa washes her brother’s hands with soap and water.
8. Elisa tells a grownup about the old paint and paint flakes.
9. The grownup knows how to clean up the paint flakes with a damp soapy rag.
10. Elisa saves the day!

The Lead Busters’ Clubhouse
Word Search

Search the puzzle box for the nine words listed below.

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Find and circle the nine words listed below.

Want to check your answers?

ANSWERS!

The Lead Busters are meeting to talk about lead.

Henry is worried. He knows that some paint has lead, and he’s afraid to use his paint box and finger-paints.

Agatha is worried too. She has a pencil. She heard someone call it a "lead pencil." She’s afraid to use her pencil.

Henry asks their teacher, Ms. Marble, for help.

Ms. Marble says they do not have to worry.

Agatha’s pencil is safe. A long time ago, pencils had lead in them. But today there is no lead in pencils.

Join the Lead Busters Club Now!

Do you want to join the Lead Busters Club? If you want to, you can take the club pledge:

I promise to look out for lead dangers.
I promise to tell a grownup if I see any lead dangers.
I promise to keep away from lead paint dust and paint flakes.
I promise to wash my hands before I eat and after I play.
I promise to leave my shoes at the door and wear socks or slippers in my house.
I promise to eat healthy foods.

After you take the pledge, you and your friends can pick a secret password for your own Lead Busters Club. Write your secret password here and "print" this page if you would like a copy of the pledge and password:

Healthy Food Quiz

Some foods can help keep your body safe from lead. These healthy foods include fruits and vegetables, beans, lean meats, lowfat dairy foods, and rice, bread, and cereal. Other foods do not help keep your body safe from lead. These foods have a lot of sugar, fat, or salt. If you eat them, eat only small amounts and eat them only once in a while.

Which foods on the list below can help keep your body safe from lead?

Put an "X" beside the healthy foods.
Put an "O" beside the foods that do not help keep your body safe from lead.

 

Healthy Food Quiz Answers

The End!

Credits

Teacher's Guide