Lead contamination in the home and the effect it can have on your family, particularly young children, is one of the saddest examples of how the use of a product (lead) in what we thought were many beneficial ways turned out to instead be poisoning our families without our knowledge. And unfortunately the lead build up is here to stay unless cleaned up and removed - lead does not break down over time.

Where lead in the home comes from

In the United States lead was commonly used in paint for homes, furniture and toys until banned in 1978. The same year the lead content in gasoline was reduced. In 1988 the use of lead in household pipes and fixtures was restricted and in 1995 the use of lead solder in food cans was banned. As you can see though, prior to the above years, there was plenty of time and opportunity for lead to build up a large residue in our homes. Additionally, with the United States as part of a global market place, lead content is imported from countries with less stringent rules and supervision on the use of lead.

How lead affects your family in the home

Lead paint inside and outside your home can peel, chip or become dusty or chalky and be ingested through your mouth or nose. Fortunately, lead cannot pass through skin contact only. Lead in household pipes and fixtures can be ingested as it makes it way through the water you drink or  food cooked in water. Simply living near a busy highway may mean lead deposited in the soil of your yard from passing cars primarily prior to 1978. Children age 6 or younger are more likely to incur health damage from even low levels of lead but adults will also have health problems from high lead levels.

Testing for Lead contamination before you buy

A basic lead paint inspection will identify areas of lead paint in the home. Some companies will have to take actual paint chips and send the sample in for analysis. Ideal Environmental Engineering, Inc. out of Bloomington, Illinois, (800) 535-0964, has a special machine that will make an on spot analysis of the paint. The home buyer should expect the basic lead paint inspection to cost around $450 depending on the number of rooms you want inspected but you will need an actual quote from the company performing the inspection. Of more value is the lead risk assessment which involves testing of paint surfaces, dust and soil and then a detailed report on the lead hazard present. However, I rarely see a home buyer request either a basic lead paint inspection or a full lead risk assessment report as part of a home purchase contract. Most assessments are done as part of a HUD or other government program that are not available free to the home buyer. Because the market demand for the lead paint inspection or the lead risk assessments by home buyers is small, there are only a few private companies that I know of that perform these inspections and the cost is higher than many home buyers want to spend. You should expect the full lead risk assessment by a private company to run from $1,000 to $1,500 but a full quote will be needed from the company performing the assessment. In the Central Illinois area the engineering firm of Maurer-Stuz, (309) 693-7615, performs the lead paint inspections and lead risk assessments as does Ideal Environmental Engineering, Inc. 

Your best option: Learn more about lead and its prevention

Unless the home buyer is willing to spend the money for a lead paint inspection or lead risk assessment and can find a local company to perform the test, the best option is education of the lead risk and its prevention. The purpose of this website is only to briefly discuss lead in the context of a home purchase and to direct the home seller or buyer to a more complete source. The EPA has published an extensive guide to parents called Lead in Your Home: A Parent’s Reference Guide EPA 747-B-98-002. There are other publications you can find and download on the publication site for the Federal government, EPA, located at:

http://nepis.epa.gov/EPA/html/Pubs/pubtitle.htm

Use you Search Page tool to find the publications dealing with the lead topic you want to find.