Paint Makers Appeal State Ruling On Lead

Two former lead paint and pigment makers found responsible for creating a public nuisance in Rhode Island have filed appeals to the state's Supreme Court. Their actions follow a final order from a lower court that puts them on the hook to clean up lead paint in 240,000 homes and buildings throughout the state at a potential cost of more than $1 billion. Paint maker Sherwin-Williams and pigment maker NL Industries filed their appeals on March 16 just after the lower court ordered them to draft and implement a clean-up plan. Pigment maker Millennium Holdings was also included in the order. A spokesman for Lyondell Chemical, which owns Millennium, says it likewise plans to appeal. Widely used in homes prior to 1955 and banned by the federal government in 1978, lead carbonate-containing paints deteriorate to a dust, threatening children's developing brains and nervous systems.