Approximately 75 percent of the country's housing built before 1978 is likely to contain lead-based paint, which if disturbed, can create a hazard known to cause delays in physical and mental development and even death in children, while causing high blood pressure and reproductive problems in adults.

UNC Asheville's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is working to combat this threat. Among the services offered by the program is "Lead-Safe Work Practices," a class combining hands-on practice, slide show presentations and group problem-solving activities. The class is led by Linda Block, who holds certification from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a risk assessor, and Adrianne Weir, a certified lead inspector.

The eight-hour course educates painters, renovators, maintenance workers, realtors and anyone working on home improvement projects on structures built before 1978 about ways they can protect themselves and their clients from adverse health effects caused by lead. Participants who successfully complete the course receive a protective suit, course materials, a certificate of completion and an N-100 dusk mask.

The course will be repeated the third Friday of each month through the end of the year; the next class will meet on March 20. Classes will meet 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Asheville Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Rd. The cost is $100.

For more information about "Lead-Safe Work Practices," call 828/251-6104 or visit www.unca.edu/eqi/lpp/training.html.