Children’s Health Month: Preventing Lead Exposure for Children Before it Occurs

Published October 18, 2021

Lead is a naturally occurring element found in small amounts in the earth’s crust. While it has some beneficial uses, lead can be toxic to humans and animals. We now know the dangers of lead, but in the past lead was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes, and many other products. Today, house paint is almost lead-free, leaded gasoline has been phased out, and household plumbing is no longer made with lead materials in the United States. Lead does not break down over time, however, so lead deposited from these older materials can still be a problem today. Hundreds of years of human activities have contributed to increased levels of lead in soil, especially in and around urban areas and near older homes.  

Lead in soil can be particularly dangerous to children six years old and younger, who are the most susceptible to the effects of lead. Children play on the ground and accidentally ingest soil contaminated with lead by touching their hands to their mouths. Such childhood exposure to lead can result in cognitive decline, organ damage, and cancer.  

“Children deserve every chance to reach their maximum potential in life,” said EPA scientist, Kirk Scheckel. “Exposure to lead can hinder development to reach that potential.” 

Much of Scheckel’s research focuses on lead in soil and dust, particularly which forms of lead can be absorbed by people or animals and can cause harm. Scientists refer to this ability to be absorbed as “bioavailability,” and not all forms of lead are bioavailable, meaning they are not absorbed by the human body equally. If soil contains lead that cannot be absorbed by the body, the lead is not likely to pose a meaningful risk to human health. Scheckel was part of a team that developed a new tool to determine whether certain soils with lead could be absorbed by the body, and he continues to investigate ways to protect children from lead exposure. 

“Mitigating lead exposure is a shared effort,” Scheckel said. “There are many factors that play a part, like soil remediation, paint abatement, drinking water infrastructure, education to reduce lead exposure, personal life changes, and more.” 

Scheckel shared the most important step that parents, doctors, and other who care for children can take to protect children is to prevent lead exposure before it occurs. 

If you are unsure about whether you may have lead in the soil around your home, there are several ways it can be tested. The primary approach is to send samples to a laboratory that can identify the concentration of lead in the soil. You can start by contacting your local government’s public health or environmental program. Additionally, most laboratories associated with state university agricultural departments and agricultural extension offices offer soil testing for lead at cost. You may choose to contact a laboratory recognized under EPA’s National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program2 (NLLAP) for lead paint chip, dust or soil sample analysis. 

Interpreting soil lead results can be challenging. There is no single threshold that defines acceptable levels of lead in soil, but there is scientific consensus that any exposure to lead presents a potential risk of adverse health effects. State and federal regulatory and guidance values may only address specific situations and are mostly focused on cleaning up industrial properties. Though it can be scary, finding lead levels in your yard or garden at or above guidance values there are numerous options to reduce exposure to lead in soil. These solutions generally fall into two groups: (1) preventing contact with the soil at the site of contamination and (2) preventing contaminated soil from accumulating in your home. 

To prevent contact at the site of contamination, you can take the steps listed on our Protect Your Family from Sources of Lead webpage.

For more information see EPA’s Learn About Lead. 

More research on lead bioavailability: 

Bioavailable soil Pb minimized by in situ transformation to plumbojarosite 
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jan 19, 2021] 

Exposure to lead (Pb) during early life has persistent adverse health effects. During childhood, ingestion of bioavailable Pb in contaminated soils can be a major route of Pb absorption. Remediation to alter physiochemical properties of soil-borne Pb can reduce Pb bioavailability. 

High Lead Bioavailability of Indoor Dust Contaminated with Paint Lead Species
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jan 05, 2021] 

House dust and soils can be major sources of lead (Pb) exposure for children. The American Healthy Homes Survey (AHHS) was developed to estimate Pb exposure from house dust and soil, in addition to other potential household contaminants and allergens.  

Correlation between lead speciation and inhalation bioaccessibility using two different simulated lung fluids
(JOURNAL) [Published : Aug 01, 2020] 

This study investigated the relationship between lead (Pb) speciation determined using Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy in <10 μm particulate matter (PM10) from mining/smelting impacted Australian soils (PP, BHK5, BHK6, BHK10 and BHK11) and inhalation 

Dynamics of Lead Bioavailability and Speciation in Indoor Dust and X-ray Spectroscopic Investigation of the Link between Ingestion and Inhalation Pathways 
(JOURNAL) [Published : Oct 01, 2019] 

Lead (Pb) exposure from household dust is a major childhood health concern because of its adverse impact on cognitive development. This study investigated the absorption kinetics of Pb from indoor dust following a single dose instillation into C57BL/6 mice. Blood Pb concentration... 

Relationship between Pb relative bioavailability and bioaccessibility in phosphate amended soil: Uncertainty associated with predicting Pb immobilization efficacy using in vitro assays 
(JOURNAL) [Published : Oct 01, 2019] 

In this study, an in vitro in vivo correlation (IVIVC) between Pb in vitro bioaccessibility (IVBA) and relative bioavailability (RBA) was explored to determine whether the efficacy of Pb immobilization in phosphate amended soils could be predicted using an in vitro approach. Mini... 

In Vitro, in Vivo, and Spectroscopic Assessment of Lead Exposure Reduction via Ingestion and Inhalation Pathways Using Phosphate and Iron Amendments
(JOURNAL) [Published : Sep 03, 2019] 

This study compared lead (Pb) immobilization efficacies in mining/smelting impacted soil using phosphate and iron amendments via ingestion and inhalation pathways using in vitro and in vivo assays, in conjunction with investigating the dynamics of dust particles in the lungs and...