PROVIDENCE -- A defense lawyer in the state's trial against companies that made and sold lead paint began yesterday morning's cross-examination with a review of some math from the previous day's testimony.

On Wednesday, state's witness June Tourangeau testified that her work at a lead clinic had taken her to "hundreds and hundreds" of houses with hazardous lead paint conditions. When pressed by John Tarantino, a lawyer for Atlantic Richfield, for a more specific number, she said she had visited "close to" 1,000 houses.

Tarantino said the state contended there are 250,000 houses in the state with lead paint. "Ten percent of all the homes would be 25,000," he said. "One percent would be 2,500."

He asked: "Would it be fair to say that you have seen a little less than one half of one percent of all the homes of children with elevated blood lead levels [in the state]?"

Tourangeau agreed with the math and Tarantino continued by asking about the source of her knowledge about lead paint hazards and lead poisoning, and by asking whether her testimony on Wednesday was all based on things she had read.

Tourangeau, a licensed practical nurse, testified that although she is not a toxicologist, doctor or an IQ test administrator, she had learned about lead poisoning and its effects on development and IQ through classes and seminars she has been taking for the past 10 years. And if homeowners have questions that she is not qualified to answer, such as how to go about permanent lead-paint abatement, she said she refers them to the state Department of Health.

Tarantino went over lead-safety guidelines issued by state and federal agencies, asking Tourangeau if she agreed that they made sense even if a house didn't have lead paint.

"If you saw teeth marks on the window sill," he asked, "whether there was lead or not, would you say to the parent you should not let your child chew on the window sills?"

Tourangeau said she would alert parents to any hazardous conditions, agreeing with Tarantino that a lead-safety video, shown in court Wednesday, depicted a baby playing with a ball that was too small and was, itself, a choking hazard.

The state's next witness, Dr. Patricia Nolan, former state health director, took the stand yesterday afternoon and talked about her work in the public health sector, specifically as it related to lead poisoning, in Arizona, Illinois and New York.

Defense lawyers will begin their cross-xamination of Nolan, an expert witness, Monday morning.

Brandie Jefferson has a fellowship with the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting. She can be reached at bjeffers [at] projo.com.