HSM 
73-10008 
and his secret plan It happened in an old building, somewhere 
downtown. 
A little girl played alone in her room. At 
least, she thought she was alone. She wasn’t. For hiding in the wall was . . . Kids! Yech! Here’s 
my plan to get rid 
of them. 
Every day I’ll flake a little— chips of paint 
that look like soda crackers will fall on the 
floor. Sarah will eat them 
and get sick. 
Heh, heh, heh. Only I know the 
SECRET of the paint. 
It has lead in it, and . . . 
LEAD IS POISON! 
I know Sarah will eat them because this 
paint is kind of sweet and all kids like 
sweet things. Heh, heh, heh,... 
Sure enough, Sarah, being curious about most 
things, picked up the chips and ate them . . . a few that day, 
some more the 
next—and soon. . . 
she became awfully sick and nothing seemed 
to help. But then .. . Sarah’s big brother, Roger, was listening 
to the radio. In the middle of Big Daddy’s 
Top Twenty, there was a message. Hey there Groovy listeners! 
Have you heard what's going down? 
Old paint can poison children! Yeah! 
Your brothers and sisters— 
what are they into right now? 
check'em out! Hmmm. 
Wonder what Sarah is up to. 
I’ll just go and see. Wow! Sarah, drop that stuff! 
Don’t you know it’s poison? 
That afternoon, Roger gave his mother the 
word about poison paint chips, and they 
took Sarah to the doctor. I’m glad you brought 
Sarah in when you did. 
She’s a very sick little 
girl right now, but we can 
make her well, this time. 
Oh, Doctor, how can we keep 
Sarah from getting sick again? 
It may not be easy, but you’ll have to 
brush those loose paint chips from the 
walls and keep the floors swept clean. When they got 
home, Roger and 
his mother got right 
to work, brushing 
down the walls 
and sweeping up 
chips 
And before very 
long, the Flake 
was evicted. Sarah 
was safe. But. . . . . . he’s still around somewhere. Maybe 
he lives in your house. 
What are your little brothers and sisters 
doing now? Hmmm? KIDS! 
After you read this comic book, you can help fight The 
Flake. Tell your parents about lead poisoning and show 
them the information on the next page. PARENTS . . . 
Lead poisoning is a serious 
disease which children get 
when they eat lead paint 
chips. Kids are always putting 
things in their mouths, but 
paint chips are a special 
danger. 
You can find out if your chil- 
dren are getting lead poi- 
soned before they get really 
sick. What you do is take 
them to a special clinic for 
a lead test. 
Also, it is important to take 
these simple steps: 
• Brush any peeling paint 
off the walls. * 
• Keep the floors swept 
clean of paint chips. 
Throw the chips away. 
• Ask a doctor, clinic or 
health department how 
to find out more about 
lead poisoning. They may 
have a pamphlet written 
just for parents. They 
can also tell you where 
to go for the lead test. 
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 
Health Services and Mental Health Administration 
Bureau of Community Environmental Management 
DHEW Publication No. (HSM) 73-10008 
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402