Transcript Campus Lead Testing - Indiana University Bloomington

By
Kim 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/dL
Advisory; level for
individual management
OSHA
Blood
40 µg/dL
60 µg/dL
Regulation; cause for
written notification and
medical exam
Regulation; cause for
medical removal from
exposure
ACGIH
Blood
30 µg/dL
Advisory; indicates
exposure at the threshold
limit value (TLV)
OSHA
Air (workplace)
µg/m3
50
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 arsenate
TLV/TWA guideline for
other forms of lead
EPA
Air (ambient)
1.5 µg/m3
Regulation; NAAQS; 3month average
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)
Water (drinking)
15 µg/L
0 µg/L
Action level for public
supplies
Non-enforceable goal;
MCLG
Various
Action levels for various
foods; example: leadsoldered food cans now
banned
600 ppm (0.06%)
Regulation; by dry weight.
There is a new standard
for lead in children’s
jewelry.
EPA
EPA
FDA
CPSC
Food
Paint

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
 NIOSH: harmful
effects associated with
lead exposure:








weakness
excessive tiredness
irritability
constipation
anorexia
abdominal discomfort
fine tremors
wrist drop
 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
toys
 Set
both and set up times to inspect
up area to perform test
 Selected
 Tested
toys to be 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
 XFR
Patches
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.