Know the Dangers of Lead Paint on Window Sills in New York

November 21, 2015 by

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, lead poisoning is “the number one environmental threat to the health of children in the United States.” In their most recent survey, approximately 4.4% of all children aged 1-5 have levels of lead in their blood that equal or exceed the threshold level of concern established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). And while these numbers are down from just a few years ago, lead exposure is a great concern.

Most lead-poisoned children have been exposed in their own homes. If you rent your apartment or home, controlling your family’s exposure to lead is more difficult to control. Many New York City apartments are older dwellings and even though lead-based paint has been banned for residential use since 1960 older buildings contain old layers of lead paint.  Lead paint was typically used on kitchen and bathroom walls and throughout homes on doors, windows, and wooden trim. Unless tested you can’t be sure if it was used in your home or apartment. Before you move in, ask the landlord if the paint has ever been tested for lead. If it has, ask to see the results. However, landlords in New York State are not required to test paint for lead, nor are they required to allow a prospective tenant to test paint for lead before renting.

Symptoms of Lead Poisoning

The most common way children get exposed to lead is by mouth. They may chew on a window sill or other area that contains lead.  Symptoms of lead poisoning vary. They may affect one area or many parts of the body. Typically, lead poisoning builds up slowly after many small exposures to lead.

Lead toxicity is rare after a single exposure or ingestion of lead.

Signs of repeated lead exposure include:

  • Abdominal pain, cramps
  • Aggressive behavior, irritability, fatigue
  • Constipation
  • Headaches
  • Loss of developmental skills
  • Loss of appetite
  • High blood pressure, anemia. Kidney problems
  • Numbness or tingling in the extremities
  • Memory loss

NYC Lead Paint Notice

New York City law requires that tenants living in buildings with 3 or more apartments complete the attached form and return it to their landlord before February 15, each year. If you do not return this form, your landlord is required to visit your apartment to determine if children live in your apartment.  This form also applies to dwellings built from 1960 – 1978 if the landlord knows lead paint was used.

Please see below for the form or click on the link below-

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/lead/lead-annual-notice.pdf

Sentry Window Guards is the leader in home and business safety. Contact us today to learn more about our window guard products, our experience and leadership in understanding NYC requirements and how we can assist you.

Sources

http://www.ag.ny.gov/environmental/lead/lead-paint-hazards

http://www.healthline.com/health/lead-poisoning#Symptoms4

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/home/home.shtml

NYC Health Lead Poisoning and Window Falls

Filed Under: Child Safety, Falls From Windows Tagged With: , , ,

Window Guards | It’s the Law in New York! Are yours installed correctly?

August 11, 2014 by

As the cooler months approach, folks in New York are beginning to open their windows to enjoy the seasonal change. With more frequent window use, it is critical to have proper protection for the children in your life. When the windows are opened to provide fresh air, especially in children’s bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as accessible windows on upper floors, windows should be secured, and if unlocked, should either have a window guard installed or should be limited to open no more than 4.5 inches. Periodically checking to see that the window’s locking mechanism is working properly should also be a part of your fall routine.

In New York, if tenants or occupants want window guards for any reason, even if there are no resident children 10 years of age or younger, the tenant can request the window guards in writing and the landlord must install them. Owners have a responsibility to ensure that window guards are properly installed. For example, grandparents who have visiting children, parents who share custody and occupants who provide child care may wish to request window guards.

If required or requested window guards have not been installed or if they appear to be insecure or improperly installed, or if there is more than 4.5 inches of open unguarded space in the window opening, a complaint should be made immediately, either by calling Sentry Window Guards or calling 311.

WINDOW SCREENS WILL NOT PREVENT A CHILD FROM FALLING OUT!

Window screens are never an acceptable safety device to prevent a child from falling or climbing out of a window. Windows less than 18” above the ground should have a window guard. If you have window guards installing in your home, this is a great time of year to make sure that your window guards have been installed correctly.

  • Window guards must be installed right and screwed in tight
  • Only New York City approved window guards should be installed. They must be made of strong metal, and (by law) must be installed tightly or they won’t work.
  • If a window guard feels wobbly when you push and pull the bars, it could come loose or fall out when a child leans against it or climbs on it.
  • The window guard must be screwed in tight on both sides with special screws. If it is loose on either side, it has not been put in right.
  • If the window guard is screwed into a rotting window frame or a loose window frame, it could come loose or fall out.

Your family’s safety is our number one priority. Give us a call to come out and check your window guards.

Filed Under: Falls From Windows, Laws regarding Window Guards

Window Guards Protect Children, New York

April 21, 2014 by

It still happens–each year in New York kids fall from windows and are either seriously injured or may be killed. Did you know that even if a child falls from a first-floor window, they may be die? It happens in the blink of an eye, but window guards can prevent these horrific accidents.

Sure, screens help to keep then insects out, but they cannot prevent falls from windows. Only window guards are a certain way to prevent accidents. All window guards in New York must be approved by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and they are the law!

Make sure your window guards are:

  1. approved, and
  2. properly installed.

THE LAW: If you live in a building that has 3 or more apartments, and a child age 10 years or younger lives with you, window guards are required (even on the first floor). Landlords are responsible for installing and maintaining window guards. Every window in your apartment is required to have a window guard, except windows leading to fire escapes. In buildings with fire escapes, window guards must be left off one window in each ground-floor apartment so the window can be used as an emergency exit. All public hallway windows must have window guards, too.

Even if you do not have a child 10 years or younger living with you, you can still have window guards if you want them. For example, you might want window guards
• To protect children who visit or for whom you care, including children with special needs, or
• For added security, but you don’t have to have a reason.

Protect children from window falls

  1. NEVER leave a child alone in a room where there are open windows that do not have window guards.
  2. If your window guards aren’t installed yet, keep your bottom windows closed. Open only your top windows for fresh air.
  3. Keep furniture that children can climb on away from all windows.
  4. NEVER let a child play:
    • On a fire escape
    • On a roof
    • In halls with windows that do not have window guards
    • Near elevator shafts
    • Near steps or stairs

If your landlord hasn’t provided window guards, refuses to respond to your request for window guards, or if you have other problems with window guards that you can’t resolve with your landlord, call 311 or the Health Department’s Window Falls Prevention Program at (212) 676-2162.

If you need help in selecting a window guard for your home or building, please call one of our professionals for the best window guards in New York.

Filed Under: Falls From Windows Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hidden Home Hazard for Kids: Falls from Windows

January 14, 2014 by

By CBSNEWS:  

You might not know it to look at them, but experts say they pose a potential hazard for kids in your home, and they’re hidden in plain sight: open windows.

Every year in the United States, some four thousand children are injured in falls from windows, and several die, according to Safe Kids USA.

In just the past few weeks, youngsters have fallen from windows in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Nebraska and Texas.

The problem tends to get worse in warmer weather, when more windows are left open, points out “Early Show” Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen. She says kids ages 4 and under are most at risk, and the falls tend to happen around noon and after 5 o’clock, when parents are usually busy making meals. And it can be a problem whether you live in the city or the suburbs.

On “The Early Show” Wednesday, Koeppen told the tragic story of Ashley Reck, whose 4-year-old son, Parker, fell through the screen of an open bedroom window last May and lost his life. Ironically, it occurred during a housewarming party for the family’s new home in Molalla, Ore.

It happened, Reck says, “in an instant. You don’t realize how fast things happen. Within four hours, I had my son running around and then I was … saying goodbye.”

» See original story here.

Filed Under: Falls From Windows

Eric Clapton on preventing tragedies like the one that killed his son.

January 13, 2014 by

Filed Under: Falls From Windows
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