When Paul Kenney and his wife Anne Wertheimer found their southeast Portland home, one feature added icing to their dream home cake.

The 93-year-old house still had its original claw foot bathtub.

"That was a big selling point for the upstairs," says Kenney, "knowing they hadn't touched it. It was still original."

Three years later, they've learned the personality of old homes also carry problems. Their house has poisoned their two-year-old daughter.

Margaux has lead poisoning. Her blood lead level is more than twice the federal action limit.

"I didn't realize how toxic it was," says Wertheimer, "and the fact you couldn't do anything about it, it's kind of utterly frustrating."

Margaux's father set out on a "search and destroy mission" to locate the sources of lead around the house. High readings came back all over from the basement floor to the windowsills upstairs.

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Flaking paint became the prime suspect. Margaux did have a habit of eating dirt. Old paint chips can hold incredibly high levels of lead.

The pipes in the house are copper so Kenney assumed they would be safe. But then he found lead solder in the joints of the copper pipes leading to a newer bathroom. The water in that new bathroom had higher lead levels than the original one upstairs.

Then he tested his classic claw foot tub.

"I've never heard of lead in the enamel of your tub. I've never heard of that," he says.

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But as he dabbed the lead test on the tub's surface, the spot turned bright crimson, quickly, indicating immediately the presence of lead.

Kenney says, "for over two years, every day of her life she has been in this tub."

The finding alarmed him. Had Margaux been soaking in lead tainted water?

Officials downplay the risk. Lead cannot absorb through the skin.

While she did tend to gulp a bit of bath water, health officials also doubt that would endanger her.

Rick Leiker at Oregon Public Health says, "it would take a very large amount of water someone swallows over an extended period of time to raise blood lead levels."

Leiker's office estimates some 2,700 children in Oregon have lead poisoning but 90% of them never get diagnosed.

Multiple medical studies show that lead in the blood of a child causes lower IQ. Lower IQ results in lower salaries as adults. One study estimates a blood level of 10 as a child costs that person $94,000 to $127,000 in lifetime earnings.

Leiker says, "the indications are that the damage done by lead in most instances is irreversible."

Margaux's lead levels have dropped since her first test.

Her family has replaced the decrepit siding and had the old paint removed and repainted on their home's exterior. And despite assurances the bathtub isn't that big a risk, they took no chances. They've had it re-surfaced.

Kenney says he contemplated moving out, but couldn't leave the problem for the next owner. "I knew this was a family house," says Kenney. "I knew a family would move in if I sold it. I kind of feel it is my responsibility to take care of it."

OREGON LEAD POISONING FACTS:

-- Fewer than 5% of Oregon Children Tested

-- 1% of Tested Children Have Lead Poisoning

-- Possibly 2,700 Lead Poisoned Oregon Kids Without Diagnosis

(Source: Oregon DHS)