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Just call me "Old Lead Bottom."

Angelia Christina of Clairton, lead inspector for McKeesport Housing Corp., says last Monday's story about lead poisoning contained a few clunkers that went over like ... well, lead balloons.

"People get freaked out when they hear about lead --- I wanted to make sure that they have the correct information," she says.

The Almanac implied that children get lead poisoning from chewing or digesting lead paint chips. Not quite, Christina says.

"Children do not need to chew any leaded surface to become poisoned," she says. "The most common way for them to consume lead is through lead dust." The dust settles on floors, stairs and window sills where children play; they put their hands in their mouth, and consume the lead.

And the Almanac erred in saying that lead dust gets into the air. Sure, it can be stirred up when lead paint or pipes are drilled, cut or sanded, Christina says, but it doesn't float around in the atmosphere.

"Lead really doesn't stay airborne ever," she says. "It will fall out very, very close to where it's created. It can't stay up in the air for too long --- it's very heavy."

Because, well, duh, it's lead.

Christina has been a lead risk assessor, inspector and supervisor for six years. She says lead dust only travels when it's picked up and accidentally carried by hands, feet, shoes and even pets.

I also didn't mention another potential source of lead, Christina says --- there might be lead in the soil outside your house, deposited there decades ago by car exhaust or steel mill pollution.

The good news, she says, is that lead risks are easy to minimize. One of the easiest, cheapest things that homeowners can do is to make sure their window sills and floors are swept clean of dust.

"For people who live in older houses, cleaning is the biggest thing," Christina says. "Don't let dust collect on window sills and floors or anywhere that children play."

And blood tests for lead are easy and quick. They're also free for children, according to the Allegheny County Health Department, and are conducted every Monday at the WIC office in the Wander Building, 339 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Call (412) 664-8870 or (412) 578-7942.

Finally, there's more good news, especially if you're a contractor. McKeesport Housing Corp. is going to host a lead supervisor course from Feb. 23 through 26. Contractors and remodelers can get certified in ways to mitigate lead exposure and risk in older buildings.

The course is being run by Youngstown's Mahoning Valley Real Estate Investors Association and is being taught by John Zilka, considered one of the top experts in lead risk reduction in the Northeast. Cost of the course is $395. To register, call (412) 664-7003.

In the meantime, I'm going to lay low until Binghamton cools off. If anyone needs me, I'll be on Taratupa, having a couple of drinks with Tim Conway and Ernest Borgnine.