Is Lead Found in Roof Tiles?

Tiles vs. Shingles

• The word "tile" usually refers to curvy clay or concrete units. The most familiar kind in the U.S. are terra cotta barrel tiles used on Southwestern-style homes. In contrast, shingles have a flat look, even if they are stamped in decorative patterns, such as scallops. Sometimes the terms tile and shingle are used interchangeably as in a National Park Service preservation brief, which shows "galvanized sheet metal shingles" that combine a flat and barrel shape.

Manufacturing

• In Birmingham, Alabama, Mayco Industries manufactures decorative lead roofing products. Mayco notes that its lead shingles are long-lasting and are primarily intended for specialty roofs, such as those on bay windows, cupolas, gazebos and porches. Europe's Calder Group says it is the largest producer of lead sheet for roofing products on the continent and has facilities in France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland and Ireland. European lead-roofing installers mainly use hand tools to cut and shape sheet lead into what they refer to as tiles, most of which are flat rectangles.

Cottage Industry Production

• In 2000, the Harvard University Gazette reported on a temporary Harvard clinic that treated children for lead poisoning in an Ecuadorian mountain village. The problem was associated with cottage industries in which entire families participated in manufacturing roof tile. The lead poisoning, which caused mental and physical debilitation, stemmed from making tiles more durable by glazing them with lead taken from discarded truck batteries. The Harvard publication noted that the manufacturing process was also polluting local air, soil and crops because of lead particulate from kilns in which the tiles were baked.

Lead Corrosion

• Soil pollution from lead around the foundation of a house can be significant if the paint on exterior walls contains lead and is deteriorating. That is one reason why the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1977 announced a ban on lead in most paints. However, runoff of lead particulate from roofs usually is a minor problem unless the metal is laid over oak or exposed to alkaline substances such as water that came into contact with Portland cement. Both oak and alkaline water corrode lead.

Scrap Metal Thefts

• Since 2007, the stealing of lead roofing has become a major financial problem for churches in Great Britain. Aside from the expense of repeated roof replacement, many congregations face expenses from interior damage to buildings due to roof leaks. In 2009, The Telegraph reported a thief's use of an Internet mapping tool to locate buildings with lead roofs. Lead theft is part of larger international problem involving pilfering of many kinds of metal for sale as scrap metal to developing countries.