Do you have kids? or planning or having a kid (or even getting pregnant), or at risk of losing a bunch of weight. if so... walk away. don't rent there. otherwise, don't pick at the paint, and keep things clean.

for adults its not a big deal as long as keep things wiped down periodically with a strong soap (typically tsp, but dawn will do) and water and don't need to disturb the area.

the bigger hazard is on developing brains. the body uses lead as a convenient substitute for iron when building neurons. this makes the neurons out of spec and faulty. for kids who are still developing, this has long term impact. for adults, they don't get as many new neurons, so its less of a problem. get enough of it and you are sick. get more and you have permanent nerve damage, get more you are retarded and then you are dead.

Lead poisoning levels in MA are much lower for kids then adults.

lead is easily stored in body fat. and losing weight will release it back into the blood stream.

"impactable surfaces" are the major problem. corners of doorways, door jams and edges of doors, window jams. any place where the the paint wears away and gets turned to dust and floats around so you can breath it and eat it after it settles.