Lead In Paint Test
Lead is one of, if not the, most common soil contaminants in the UK. Unsurprisingly, it features in many of our soil testing packages (Basic Metals Screen, Standard Contamination Test, Advanced Contamination Suite and several others).
It is a nasty old heavy metal and utterly toxic to humans (through the food chain and soil dust inhalation and/or ingestion). Many instances of lead poisoning are due to ongoing low-dose exposure. Because its symptoms are predominantly emotional and mental in nature, lead poisoning is not easily spotted.
These effects are particularly acute for children, who not only put things and their fingers in their mouths (on an entirely too regular, for anyone minding them) basis — and thus end up ingesting the heavy metal when playing in gardens, playgrounds, fields et cetera where the soil contains elevated concentrations — but also because the result of lead poisoning on them is all the more impactful because it can hamper physical and mental development.
According to a Penn State University report: “Serious human health risks, particularly for children under six years of age, are associated with lead poisoning… Low-level, chronic exposure to lead in contaminated residential soil can cause several developmental and behavioral problems in children. Among these are reduced IQ and attention span, hyperactivity, impaired growth, learning disabilities, hearing loss, and insomnia. Once absorbed by the human body, lead is extremely difficult, if not impossible to remove. Therefore, not only is prevention of lead poisoning the best cure, but it may be the only cure.”
When it comes to the source of lead contamination of soils across Britain, probably the most-often considered is historical lead-mining and smelting activity (Derbyshire, in particular, but many other areas as well).
Another is the use of leaded petrol (and to a lesser extent, though not for anyone living near an airfield, older aircraft through the use of leaded aviation fuel), with lead being distributed on soils through exhausts.
Historical industrial activity is another potential source that may spring to mind. As is the former (or present, for that matter) use of sludge fertiliser in farming (and consequently sometimes areas neighbouring these).
Perhaps even contaminated water that passed through lead pipes (which remain entirely too common across the UK despite the dangers of using them becoming apparent to citizens of ancient Rome).
Paint With Lead: Danger In Plain Sight
There is one more that is sometimes forgotten. Paint! Although the UK started to phase out the use of lead in paint in the 1960s, it wasn’t banned from sale until 1992 via European Union legislation. Until then it had been added to most paint because it helped preserve vivid colours and sped up drying time, among other benefits. As such, it can still be found in homes, schools, offices, barns and historic buildings built before the ‘90s. Peeling leaded paint on the exterior of buildings often ends up in soil near them. In many instances, the original paint — inside and outside — may have been covered over but the original layer or layers remain, posing a potentially serious threat through peeling, chipping or sanding.
That is why Safe Soil UK has introduced the Lead In Paint testing suite. Sometimes, it’s important to be aware of the source of soil lead contamination, and in this case its own source of potential harm. The SSUK Lead In Paint testing suite requires just a few chips of paint. We’ll analyse these and let you know whether these contain lead (and its concentration) to help provide peace of mind to anyone curious whether there are dangers lurking around them.
To test soil for lead (and other metals and contaminants), SSUK offers several testing packages, including:
SHIPPING INFO:
We will send you a testing kit that includes a labeled soil sample bag and instructions. When you're done, place the bag back in the box that will have a pre-paid postage address label already affixed, seal it and pop the package into a Royal Mail post box or drop it off at a local post office.