Results From Home Lead Testing Kits
Test Your Family’s Lead Levels
By Kim Fettig, CBS Atlanta Consumer Reporter
ATLANTA — With four kids running around the Brown’s house, there is no telling what is being played with, touched, even gnawed on by the toddlers.
Because lead can be hidden in toys, paint, dishes, even tracked in from the outside, Lisa Brown was more than willing to try an at home lead test on 3-year-old Joshua. All she had to do was swab the saliva in his mouth.
She mailed it off to the lab and a week later we had results.
Joshua’s lead level was a 5.5. That is above average according to Dr. Robert Geller at Georgia Poison Control who said, “the average level in Georgia is between 2 and 3 and so this number is higher than average”.
Now the Brown’s are left with tough questions about where Joshua is getting exposed.
“Do we check out the house and have someone check the house to see if there is lead in it? Do we go through all the toys and get rid of the lead? You don’t know where it is and you don’t know how to know,” said Brown.
Although Joshua’s levels are above average, they are still below the critical level of 10 and above. High levels can lead to major developmental problems even hearing loss.
The doctor’s recommend the family repeat the tests in three months and look for obvious sources of lead in the house.
Paint shouldn’t be an issue in the 1999 home. Lead paint hasn’t been used since the 1970s.
“You don’t know. Is he touching the toys and then sucking his thumb,” said Brown.
Each year the Keenan Kids Foundation discovers dozens of toys on store shelves with high levels of lead. Keenan said, “we are talking about one of the most dangerous toxins that you can possibly get near a child”
The Brown’s plan to re-test all the kids. They used Lead Confirm, an over the counter lead screening test that retails for $79.99 including shipping out the sample and testing it. Getting the blood test at a doctor can range from $75-$200 and in some circumstances can be free.
For more information on where you can buy home lead tests go to these links:
CVS
