A major source of lead exposure to children is through soil, paint, and dust in and around their homes. Currently, the state of Indiana detects home lead hazards through a lead risk assessment (LRA) only after a child living in a home has an elevated blood lead level. In order to screen for lead proactively, the University of Notre Dame Lead Innovation Team developed a lead screening kit (LSK) that provides residents with the supplies to collect soil, paint, and dust samples. Samples are then sent back to Notre Dame for lead analysis using x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Previously, the lead screening kit was validated by comparing in-situ and ex-situ lead measurements using XRF analysis, which found high degrees of specificity and sensitivity when the same samples of soil and paint were compared and accurate detection of hazardous levels of lead in dust samples. In this study, we compared the results from LSKs with results from independently conducted LRAs in 100 homes in Indiana.  The gold standard for lead risk assessments is a series of tests performed by lead risk assessors, which involves in-situ XRF analysis of paint samples, and collection of composite soil samples and defined-area dust wipe samples for later analysis by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry or ICP-mass spectrometry. In the lead screening kit, the tests are performed by home residents using protocols that differ from the LRA methods. Paint samples are collected with a strip of sticky tape and the XRF analysis takes place on the back side of the chip; multiple soil samples are obtained, and dust sampling is done by concentrating dust from several places in the house in one location of a dust wipe. Because the lead screening kit samples are collected by residents independently of the lead risk assessment, the samples in the LSK and LRA are likely to come from different locations in the home, which could have very different levels of lead. Data analysis comparing the results of the lead screening kit and lead risk assessments for 100 homes across St. Joseph and Marion counties in Indiana will provide insight into the screening kit’s ability to correctly identify whether a home contains a lead hazard. This analysis will indicate strengths of the screening kit, as well as areas in which the kit can be improved moving forward.

Validation of the Notre Dame lead screening kit using lead risk assessments

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