ARVADA, CO - In a move to further serve widespread issues associated with the dangers of lead paint, James M. Barthel, President and creator of the ECOBOND^® family of products, has made the strategic decision to add Bitrex^® Bitterant Technology to the company’s lead paint treatment product, ECOBOND - Lead Defender^®.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that today at least four million households have children living in them that are being exposed to high levels of lead. There are approximately half a million U.S. children ages 1-5 with blood lead levels above five micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL), the reference level at which CDC recommends public health actions be initiated. Reuters found nearly 3,000 areas with recently recorded lead poisoning rates at least double those in Flint during the peak of that city's contamination crisis. And more than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher.

"We are passionate about restoring our environment and protecting people from the hazards of lead with our patented lead paint removal treatment technology," said Barthel. "We are excited to work with Bitrex, as this adds yet another layer of protection that we provide to our customers."

Bitrex, a product of Johnson Matthey (UK), is the bitterest substance known and is added to ECOBOND to reduce accidental ingestion of potentially harmful materials. In the new Lead Defender formula, Bitrex creates an added safety barrier to further protect children from lead poisoning by reducing the amount of paint chips or dust a child may ingest.

ECOBOND - Lead Defender is specially formulated for residential or professional use with patented lead treatment reagents, paint penetrators, softeners and professional-grade latex paint to penetrate, bond, seal and treat existing lead paint applications and control the spread of airborne lead while providing advanced human bioavailability reduction. ECOBOND LBP, patented lead paint treatment technology, seals and treats lead dust and lead in paint.