ByKim Fulford

Matthew Emery

Ancients • They regarded lead as the father of all metals, so they associated

Saturn with the metal.• “Saturnine“ applies to an individual whose temperament has

become gloomy, cynical, and taciturn as the results of lead intoxication.

Lead used in:• face powders, rouges, and mascaras• the pigment in many paints

"crazy as a painter" was an ancient catch phrase rooted in the demented behavior of lead-poisoned painters

• a spermicide for informal birth control• a sweet and sour condiment popular for seasoning food• a wine preservative perfect for stopping fermentation or disguising

inferior vintages

"plumbing" comes from the Latin word for lead, plumbum.

References to lead all throughout history Earliest recording of lead is found in Exodus

Bronze Age brought many more documentations of lead use; original lead artifacts have been discovered also

Roman’s used lead for underground pipe work; the Roman symbol can still be found today

They found lead to be a very versatile metal; was very durable and malleable

As time went on, leads usage decreased.

Hippocrates found that human children and adults were getting sick; it was he who realized the sickness was from the negative effects from working around lead fumes.

Introduced the “first” air filtering system using a pig bladder.

Illness seemed to follow exposure to lead, so by the mid 1800’s they started to decrease the use of lead in certain products that humans would come in contact with.

29 CFR 1910.1025• 1910.1025(c)(1) The employer shall assure that no

employee is exposed to lead at concentrations greater than fifty micrograms per cubic meter of air (50 ug/m(3)) averaged over an 8-hour period.1910.1025(c)(2) If an employee is exposed to lead for more than 8 hours in any work day, the permissible exposure limit, as a time weighted average (TWA) for that day, shall be reduced according to the following formula:

Maximum permissible limit (in ug/m(3))=400 divided by hours worked in the day.

Table 3: Standards and Regulations for Lead

Agency Media Level Comments

CDC Blood 10 µg/dLAdvisory; level for individual management

OSHA Blood40 µg/dL60 µg/dL

Regulation; cause for written notification and medical examRegulation; cause for medical removal from exposure

ACGIH Blood 30 µg/dL

Advisory; indicates exposure at the threshold limit value (TLV)

OSHA Air (workplace)50 µg/m3

30 µg/m3

Regulation; PEL (8-hr average.) (general industry)Action level

Table 3: Standards and Regulations for Lead

Agency Media Level Comments

CDC/NIOSH Air (workplace) 100 µg/m3 REL (non-enforceable)

ACGIH Air (workplace)150 µg/m3

50 µg/m3

TLV/TWA guideline for lead arsenateTLV/TWA guideline for other forms of lead

EPA Air (ambient) 1.5 µg/m3 Regulation; NAAQS; 3-month average

EPA Soil (residential)400 ppm (play areas)1200 ppm(non play areas)

Soil screening guidance level; requirement for federally funded projects only (40 CFR Part 745, 2001)

EPA Water (drinking)15 µg/L0 µg/L

Action level for public suppliesNon-enforceable goal; MCLG

FDA Food Various

Action levels for various foods; example: lead-soldered food cans now banned

CPSC Paint 600 ppm (0.06%)

Regulation; by dry weight. There is a new standard for lead in children’s jewelry.

Main exposure pathways:• Inhalation, ingestion, and absorption

OSHA PEL - .05 mg/m3

NIOSH REL and PEL match OSHA

IDLH - 100 mg/m3

Due to the many health concerns, many companies will prohibit women from working in conditions that have a high risk of lead exposure during childbearing years; men are not wholly excluded from this

They do this for the protection of children that might be born to these women

Target Organs and other health effects that can occur:• Kidneys • Nervous system • Anemia• high blood pressure• impotence, infertility, and reduced sex drive• Lead poisoning• Neurological effects• Mental retardation have occurred in the children

of workers engaged in the occupations where there is lead exposure

In the past, lead was used for the following:

Paint Plumbing Preservatives Gasoline Bullets

Determine if there is any lead in campus daycare toys

Determine the amount of lead in paint if there is any

Picked two locations to perform test• Knee High Day Care and Campus View

Apartments Day Care

Contacted both and set up times to inspect toys

Set up area to perform test

Selected toys to be tested

Tested toys and analyzed data

OSHA Tech Manual • Sec. I “The Use of Surface Contamination

Sampling in Evaluating Safety and Health Programs” 29 CFR 1910.132 requires the assessment of the

[day care] to determine if it is likely to have [lead] present… Controlled Work Area Requiring PPE Controlled Work Area Requiring Special Cleaning Non-controlled Work Area [no PPE required]

It was determined that Day Care’s are:• Non-controlled Work Areas• Meaning that there is no reason to believe

that there would be an exposure to lead or significant contamination

Instant Lead Testing Swabs

Ghost Wipe Patches

XFR

 1. Squeeze the swab to crush the front glass vial inside.

 2. Squeeze the swab to crush the rear glass vial inside.

 3. Shake the swab to mix the reagents.  

4. While squeezing the swab, rub the surface to be tested for approximately 30 seconds. Within one minute, the swab will turn color if the contaminant is present.

One wipes the surface that is desired to be tested and then sends sample to the lab for further analysis of the contents absorbed.

Uses a radiation source to detect any lead in a 1’x 1’ surface section. It has the capabilities to accurately detect up to six layers . Measures in mg/cm2

Each room with toys was thoroughly looked in and each type of toy was examined and set aside as suspect or not.• Suspect determined by

Age of the toy List from EPA Makeup of the toy

The XRF was then used and if any reading of lead came up then a second and third test was run with the XRF. These were averaged together.

After XRF confirmed, the wipe and instant lead test was used. Any positive readings from these tools and the toy is asked to be removed.

The toy is then taken back and sent to a lab if needed

Exterior paint was shown to have very high concentration of lead; however, there is NO RISK of exposure. The house has been fully re-sided

A stool was found to have small traces of lead

Certain paint brush handles were found to have small traces of lead

Little wooden toys had traces of lead

The little wooden stool with traces of lead needs to be sanded down and repainted

Little wooden toys with half the allowed concentration should be taken out and replaced

Remediation of the outside of Day Care

• Has recently been fully re-sided; no way for there to be any exposure to the children as the main play area is well away from the house

Day Care Administration has been through their toys and removed any that may be suspect already. Continued monitoring by staff and others should be on going especially when new toys are introduced.

One day care had a child that tested very high for lead in their system. It is thought to come from the home not the day care.