Saturday

LeadCheck: Household Lead Test Kit

The health and safety of family members, particularly children, is paramount to us at Success Through Play, and that is why we were so happy to find Lead Check, the only EPA approved home lead testing kit. Lead, as Lead dioxide, was the source of white paint for centuries until it was replaced by safer and whiter titanium dioxide. Many of us may be presently living in a house which is contaminated with lead paint and not even know it. Even today, poorly purified titanium dioxide can contain significant amounts of lead from the natural mineral source, or the paint could have be adulterated to lower the costs.

According to the CDC, lead poisoning is one of the most common preventable pediatric health problems today. The CDC has established a Lead Poisoning Prevention Program with a goal of eliminating blood levels in children by 2010. Babies, toddlers and children may potentially be exposed to lead in a variety of common situations including eating lead tainted candy, household dust, bare soil, toys, clothing, furniture etc. Young children are especially vulnerable as they engage in frequent hand-to-mouth activities. To make matters worse, tainted lead paint chips have a sweet taste which can be very appealing. It is well known that lead exposure can cause cognitive and behavioral deficits. We recommend asking your pediatrician to order a simple blood test to find out your child's lead status. This simple screening test has the potential to identify children who have been exposed to lead and take appropriate measures. Lead poisoning can often go undetected for many years and we urge parents to be proactive.


Toys, a major concern
Recent studies and reports have found high levels of lead in painted toys, with no country of origin being completely free of problem levels. With the number of toys on the market, it is nearly impossible to find a truly complete list of properly tested toys. Healthy Toys is a good place to start, but budget and time constraints limit the number and variety of toys that they can test. The LeadCheck: Household Lead Test Kit is an invaluable tool that can add to your piece of mind by giving you the opportunity to safely test all of the toys in your children's toy box.

Other household surfaces
As mentioned, Lead continues to be a concern in homes from old paint on surfaces such as window sills, trim and walls. The Lead test kits can be used for these surfaces as well. When looking into a home or apartment to move into, first check its painted surfaces with the Lead Check kit.

The LeadCheck Swabs for Home Use, one of several toxic metal testing kits available from Hybrivet Systems, Inc for professional and home users, is very easy to use and verify the presence of lead in such items as toys and painted surfaces. The directions are simple and clear, just crush the two components, mix and apply using the swab and rub for 30 seconds. We used the test swabs on several toys. None of the toys we tested had detectable levels of lead. The test kit even includes lead sources to verify the swabs are working properly, which we also used and verified. We appreciated the kits simplicity of use, the included verification slips and the accuracy that has been lacking in previously available kits.


As with any chemical testing system, be sure to read and follow the directions and take proper safety precautions.

For further information, please visit www.leadcheck.com


The CDC provides the following Tips to Prevent Lead Exposure which is a must read.

Stay up to date with the latest lead recalls.


Giveaway winner!
Congratulations to John K.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for writing this informative article. The products looks essential and the links are very helpful.

Anonymous said...

I travel frequently and often like to pick up painted wooden toys in Africa which are unbranded. I have always wondered if they have been tainted with lead and now I will be able to find out. Great resource.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant product. Every household needs this!

Anonymous said...

I didn't even know that this test existed. I will be ordering some as we have many toys and other products that are "suspect"

Anonymous said...

Hoping I win!

I'm Angie. said...

wonderful! thanks for the info.

Rian from LeadCheck® said...

Thank you for your glowing endorsement of our LeadCheck® product. Many people do not understand the dangers of lead. We believe that bringing this to the attention of the masses is a worthwhile venture in that it aims to create a better and healthier standard of living for everyone.

Lead is most dangerous in dust form. It is essentially invisible. If your house was built before 1978, there's a 60% chance that lead paint has been used in it at some point. Make sure your home is lead free when renovating and make sure your renovator is EPA certified or any disturbance to the house will create a dangerous environment.

leadpaint said...

Lead dust is the problem here. As a contractor I have noticed that it is very intresting that many house in the 10-20 year period before the 1978 age actually do not have lead after we have checked them with the Leadcheck test swabs. I used several types of these products prior to the EPA RRP law starting and have found that Leadcheck (EPA recognized set) it definetly the best. It is very advised that contractors out there read this article because many contractors are not using the EPA recognized kit and are not getting accurate test results from there lead test kits. Our site offers the best prices to supply contractors with everything they need including Leadcheck lead test kits, We offer great prices for homeowners and contractors. We also offer several other supplies needed to make you compliant and legal in your quest to do renovations in homes built prior to 1978 - Please visit us at: LEADPAINTEPASUPPLIES.COM and if you have questions feel free to call or email us. If you have any questions about Lead paint detection feel free to email us and we can help you with answers.