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Home Depot was recently forced to settle after using contractors who were not properly certified to handle old lead paint during home renovations. Before 1978, lead was commonly used in house paint, but it can also appear elsewhere in your home without warning. Here are ways to detect and manage lead contamination around your home.
Testing for lead in your water
While most tap water is considered safe, incidents like the water crisis in Flint make it understandable if you're hesitant to trust it completely.
Every year, your water utility provides a mandatory “Consumer Confidence Report,” which includes lead levels if any are present. The CDC has a guide to interpreting the report available here. If you don’t pay the water bill yourself, you won’t receive this report directly, but many are available online. To locate your water utility, check your bill or ask the person responsible for paying it. For instance, your landlord or the administrative office at your school or workplace can assist you with this information.
To reduce the amount of lead that leaches into water from lead and copper pipes, water passing through these pipes must be treated with anti-corrosive agents. Water utilities are required to test the water and notify you if any lead is detected. Many of these utilities will even offer free lead testing for your home if you ask.
If you're skeptical about the results from your water utility's test or if you're using water from a private well, independent labs are available to test for lead. The Environmental Protection Agency provides a list of certified labs here.
Water filters can be useful, but they may not completely eliminate the problem. In Flint, for example, lead levels are so high—reaching 4,000 ppb in some homes—that filtered water remains hazardous. However, certified filters can remove up to 96% of lead at concentrations of 150 parts per billion or lower.
The public safety organization NSF International has a searchable database of water filters to help you find products that filter lead or any other contaminants you're concerned about. Not all filters are effective: Brita filters do not claim to remove lead. However, a pitcher filter made by ZeroWater, available at Target and Walgreens, does.
Reasons lead may be present in your soil and how to address it
A significant source of lead exposure is the lead that was once in gasoline. Despite today’s pumps dispensing only unleaded fuel, that lead had to go somewhere. Areas with heavy traffic, particularly those near roads that were busy before 1986—when leaded gasoline was banned—are likely to have accumulated significant amounts. Soil near such roads, as well as around homes, yards, and parks built nearby, can contain lead. Even old industrial sites may have left traces of lead behind, even if the factory was demolished long ago. Additionally, lead dust from old paint can make its way into the soil.
How concerned should you be? It’s a tough question. According to the CDC states, the biggest risk is for young children who might ingest dirt, though whether this becomes a problem depends on factors like the child’s age, diet, and health. Different states also have varying standards for acceptable lead levels in soil. The EPA considers 300 parts per million (ppm) as the limit, but Minnesota's threshold is 100 ppm, and California's is even lower at 80 ppm. At 300 ppm, a child would need to consume roughly three-quarters of a teaspoon of soil per week to reach a “level of concern” in their bloodstream, according to the extension.
Plants grown in lead-contaminated soil don’t usually absorb lead directly. However, root vegetables grown in such soil can pick up lead, and children who play outside might ingest dirt or other contaminated items. Additionally, dirt from outside can be tracked indoors on dirty shoes.
Testing soil for lead is trickier than testing water or paint. Consumer test kits aren’t very reliable for detecting lead in soil, and even expensive lab tests have limitations. If you don’t have a specific concern about your soil, it might be better to skip testing. Instead, focus on ensuring that you—and especially your children—avoid eating dirt, and make sure to clean off promptly when you get dirty.
If you’re worried about lead in your garden vegetables, try to position your garden away from older homes and busy roads, if possible, and keep the soil alkaline and well-fertilized. You can also peel the skins of root vegetables like potatoes and discard the outer leaves of leafy vegetables such as cabbage. Alternatively, consider planting these vegetables in raised beds filled with soil purchased from another location.
Even inside your home, floors can become contaminated with dirt carried in on shoes. If you have children who crawl on the floor and tend to put things in their mouths, it’s a good idea to remove your shoes indoors. Don’t forget that your yard isn't the only place where you might find lead dust. Other potential sources include your workplace, particularly if you work in construction or metalworking. Gun ranges are another location known to have significant lead dust.
What you should know about lead paint
In 1978, the federal government banned the use of lead paint in homes, so if you live in or buy a house built before then, there’s a chance you have lead paint somewhere. However, some states and cities had already banned it before that. Lead carbonate was a popular paint pigment because it made the paint thick and opaque (a role often filled by titanium dioxide today). Unfortunately, it was also toxic, which led to the phase-out.
There are consumer test kits available for lead paint, and we have an excellent guide on how to use them here. If you live in an older home, particularly one with a lot of original features, it might be simpler to assume there’s lead paint present and take precautions accordingly.
If you discover lead paint on your walls, there's no immediate cause for panic. As long as the paint isn’t flaking or disturbed, you can simply paint over it with a non-lead paint. Even better, use an encapsulant, a product designed to seal in lead and prevent exposure.
Renovating your home can be a major challenge, especially when it comes to something as simple as replacing a window. Renovation work stirs up dust, and this is when lead particles can become airborne or settle on other surfaces. If you have dust or paint chips around your house that may contain lead, vacuuming them could actually make things worse by dispersing the lead dust into the air. It's best to either use a HEPA vacuum if you have one, or simply wipe up the dust with a damp paper towel.
When tackling a renovation project, it’s crucial to hire a professional who knows how to properly handle lead mitigation. If you’re planning to do it yourself, make sure to follow lead-safe work practices. The Environmental Protection Agency offers guidelines for DIYers here, and provides a list of certified renovators. You can also watch this video to see what precautions are necessary:
Families with children and pregnant women need to be particularly cautious about lead exposure
Lead is especially harmful to children because it interferes with the development of their brains. While adults can also suffer from lead poisoning, it requires a much higher level of exposure, and the symptoms are generally less severe. In adults, lead poisoning symptoms can include fatigue, nausea, and may lead to nervous system disorders such as neuropathies.
However, if you're pregnant or have young children, your concern should be heightened. High levels of lead exposure can lead to miscarriages or stillbirths, and can harm the brain development of a fetus. Children under five are at the highest risk because their brains undergo rapid development during this period.
Obstetricians and pediatricians often inquire about your lead exposure to determine whether checking your lead levels is necessary. They may ask about the age of your home, the source of your water, or whether you've recently undertaken any home renovations. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises blood tests for lead only if a child is at high risk for elevated lead levels. So, if there's any aspect of your home or lifestyle that makes you suspect lead exposure, don’t hesitate to bring it up during your doctor's visit.
Your healthcare provider will review the results with you. Typically, a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter is considered the current “level of concern.” At this point, you'll be encouraged to examine your home for potential lead sources (such as water, soil, or paint) and possibly have them tested. If your lead levels exceed 45 micrograms, your provider may suggest chelation therapy, a process to help remove lead from the bloodstream. Just to clarify, chelation is a complex procedure that should only be performed by trained medical professionals and is not something you should attempt using supplements or undergo without evidence of lead poisoning.
Ideally, it won't come to that. While lead poisoning remains a concern in the U.S., it isn’t a nationwide issue, so there's no need to panic. Have a conversation with your child’s healthcare provider to assess the risk, and take appropriate steps to minimize your family's exposure.
