Its roots go back to 1998, when Ron Motley, a South Carolina lawyer and veteran of the tobacco settlements, met state attorneys-general and identified lead-based paint as a promising area for public litigation.

ECONOMIST: Environmental risks

The crime waves that afflicted many parts of the world and then, against all predictions, collapsed, were ascribed, in an article published by Mother Jones last week, to the rise and fall in the use of lead-based paint and leaded petrol.

FORBES: The Problem For The Left If Tetraethyl Lead Really Does Cause Crime

It could take millions to fix up the structure to your and the government's liking. (Watch for asbestos and lead-based paint.) You'll also need money for insurance, and that includes liability insurance for the rabid lighthouse fans that will show up wanting to climb the lighthouse tower.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Curiously, Rhode Island is also one of the few states where the attorney-general has not endorsed moves by the paint industry to minimise the chance of lead poisoning by publishing warnings and providing training on how to deal with surfaces that may have been coated with lead-based paint.

ECONOMIST: Environmental risks

" By the early 20th century Sherwin was making paint with lead-based pigment, even after the company published an article in 1904 warning that "white lead is poisonous in a large degree, both for the workmen and for the inhabitants of a house painted with white lead colors.

FORBES: Chip Thrills