How to test for lead in the home or other building:
This article suggests where and how a home or other building should be tested for lead contamination hazards. To reduce the risk of lead poisoning attention is needed to more than just paint.
By offering simple steps to protect your family from lead poisoning, the original US CPSC document provided 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. However that particular document omitted attention to lead contamination sources in buildings other than paint.
The original U.S. CPSC document is public domain. We have made additions to the technical depth of this article and we have added additional 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 material.
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While the original CPSC article focused on lead paint hazards (indeed a major source of lead contamination in some buildings), below we list additional potential sources of lead that should be considered. There is no doubt that no lead hazard list is exhaustive or therefore complete. Contact Us by email to suggest additions or corrections.
Just knowing that a home has lead-based paint may not tell you if there is a hazard.
You can get your home checked for lead hazards in one of two ways, or both:
Have qualified professionals do the work. The federal government is writing standards for inspectors and risk assessors. Some states might already have standards in place. Call your state agency for help with locating qualified professionals in your area (see below).
Trained professionals use a range of methods when checking your home, including:
Watch Out: Home test kits for lead are available, but the federal government is still testing their reliability. These tests should not be the only method used before doing renovations or to assure safety.
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In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
"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."