How to Test or Check Your Family for Lead Poisoning
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Lead poisoning hazards advice:
Here are some simple steps to test and protect your family from lead poisoning. This document provides advice for reducing the risk of lead poisoning for families living in homes where lead exposure is suspected, likely, or where lead contamination is actually confirmed by testing.
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US CPSC Suggestions on How to Test or Check Your Family for Lead Poisoning or Contaminants
Get your children tested if you think your home has high levels of lead.
A simple blood test can detect high levels of lead. Blood tests are important for:
- Children who are 6 months to 1 year old (6 months if you live in an older home that might have lead in the paint).
- Family members that you think might have high levels of lead.
If your child is older than 1 year, talk to your doctor about whether your child needs testing.
Your doctor or health center can do blood tests.
They are inexpensive and sometimes free.
Your doctor will explain what the test results mean.
Treatment for lead if adults or children have blood or bone lead levels that are too high can range from changes in diet to medication or a hospital stay.
The original U.S. CPSC document expanded in this article series is public domain. We have made additions to the technical depth of this article and we have added additio nal important detail about lead hazards - these are indicated by a [bracketed note in italics]. The additional text or commentary, website design, links, and references are independent information.
Lead Hazard Telephone Hotlines
The National Lead Information Center
Call 1-800-LEAD-FYI to learn how to protect children from lead poisoning.
For other information on lead hazards, call the center's clearinghouse at 1-800-424-LEAD. For the hearing impaired, call, TDD 1-800-526-5456 (FAX: 202-659-1192, Internet: EHC@CAIS.COM).
EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline
Call 1-800-426-4791 for information about lead in drinking water.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Hotline
To request information on lead in consumer products, or to report an unsafe consumer product or a product-related injury call 1-800-638-2772. (Internet: info@cpsc.gov). For the hearing impaired, call TDD 1-800-638-8270.
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Continue reading at LEAD TESTS for the HOME - for some general US CPSC suggestions, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see these
Recommended Articles
- LEAD TEST KIT for HOME USE for a simple test for lead on building surfaces, pottery, and toys and a review of a Home Test Kit for Lead in on building surfaces. The same company offers a lead-in-water test, as do local health departments and private water testing labs in most cities.
- Also see LEAD IN DRINKING WATER, HOW to REDUCE
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- [2] US CPSC HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM LEAD IN THE HOME [PDF] US CPSC Document #426 with additional information and annotations
- "Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Lead (Pb) and Its Availability in Children's Metal Jewelery", US CPSC, 2/3/2005
- Lead in Drinking Water: Advice
- Tests for Lead Contamination in Water
- Lead in Drinking Water - Testing Problems/Advice
- Lead Hazards: Advice, evaluation, mitigation, services - lead paint, lead in plumbing, lead in water, air, dust
- How to Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home U.S. CPSC publication with additional links and resource references
- Lead Hazards in buildings, Dust, Paint, Water: General Advice, Testing Procedures, Illnesses with additional links and resource references for Lead Hazards
- Lead in Drinking Water : Advice
- Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
- SOP for Determining Lead (Pb) and And Its Availability in Children's Jewelry
- Toy Industry Policy on Lead in Toys [dead link 2023/12/05 vinyltoys.com/docs/hm/icti_lead [dot] html ] , International Council of Toy Industries, October 8, 1997
"The voluntary standard established in the United States under ASTM F-963 and the European standard under EN-71 for soluble lead in toys (lead which may migrate from the toy and be ingested by the child) is 90 parts-per-million. At that level, any intentional use of lead in paints or other surface coatings containing lead would immediately put the toy over the permitted limit."
"Under federal law, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces a standard for total lead of 600 ppm. Recently, the CPSC refused to lower the lead limit in paint and other similar surface coating materials to 100 ppm after finding that most paints sold in the United States were already at or below that level and, therefore, these materials did not present an unreasonable risk of injury warranting further government regulation."
- Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms Suggested by Feb 2006 NY Times Article on Kosovo Roma Camps
- Environmental Hazard Testing, Effects, Remedies, Prevention - our main Enviro-Haz web page
- Drinking Water Contamination and Pollution How to Detect, Test, Correct, and Prevent Well Water Contamination - US EPA - Groundwater
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.
- Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.
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