Testing the lead test kits

Three of the five home lead-testing kits we tested at Consumer Reports were useful though limited screening tools if you are worried about specific items in your home. The kits detect surface, or “accessible,” lead. They don’t detect lead embedded below the surface. If an item tests positive, remove it from use. For exact lead levels, have it screened professionally.

Homax Lead Check, $8
Lead Check Household Lead Test Kit, $18.45
These two kits consist of cigarette-shaped swabs, made by the same company, that turn pink when they detect lead. They were the easiest to use and identified accessible lead in toys, ceramic dishware, and vinyl or plastic. If lead concentrations are low, these swabs can take up to two hours to change color, but in our tests high concentrations produced immediate results. The eight-swab Lead Check Household Lead Test Kit pack is a better bargain than the Homax two-swab pack. Its packaging was less susceptible to being crushed.

Lead Inspector, $13
Swabs turn yellow, brown, gray, or black if lead is detected. It can take up to 10 minutes for a color change to occur at low lead levels. The kit, with eight tests, identified accessible lead and might be a good choice for painted metal jewelry. It also might be superior for pink or red items, because if those shades of paint bled onto a Lead Check swab, it might falsely appear to be positive. Have good ventilation and wear gloves to protect skin from chemicals.

First Alert, $13
The four test swabs provided are similar in design to those used in Lead Inspector. But we experienced some false negatives for accessible lead.

Pro-Lab Lead Surface, $10
This kit was less sensitive and more difficult to use. Two small pieces of treated paper are cut to create six tests. The paper is moistened and rubbed on the object, but we found the paper often fell apart before the two-minute rubbing time was over.

Comments

[D Schroeder]

We used the Lead Inspector kit to do a science fair experiment with soil. The test was easy to use and we felt it was acurate.
(We conducted 160 tests). We also conducted a test using a lead fishing weight to check the accuracy of the product. It tested a strong positive.

[joe]

How accurate were the test kits w/r/t false negatives? Maybe your orginal article goes into this. Do you have the data from the results of your tests and how you conducted the tests? Like most people, almost everything we use in our lives - shoes, pens, computer keyboards, sunglasses, light switches, etc., etc. are made in China. (Walk around your house and office and see for yourself.) For peace of mind, it would be nice to test all these things with an "accurate" tester. We obviously cannot take all these things to a lab somewhere or start scraping them and taking samples into a lab. Thanks for any feedback from anyone that comments.

[Consumer Reports]

To get an accurate measurement of lead paint on toys, lab technicians scrape a certain amount of paint off the toy with a knife or razor blade, dissolve it in acid and test the solution in a sophisticated laboratory instrument called a spectrometer. The instrument is able to detect lead levels down to very minute amounts. Lead testing kits are not nearly as precise but can screen toys for the presence of lead. If used properly, the Lead Check and the Lead Inspector kits we tested will indicate positive test results if lead is present in dangerous amounts on the surface of the toy. No scraping is necessary.

[Dave]

I'd imagine you could take a sharp knife to scrape away some of the paint on an inconspicuous part of the toy. This way you can then test to see more than just the surface levels. My teething baby will easily get past the surface paint of anything, so I'll just intentionally do the same thing with a knife. Let's face it, consumers don't have the resources to have toys professionally screened for exact lead levels. Would my suggestion gets us a bit more accuracy with a lead test kit?

[ConsumerReports]

You can check for lead test kits at home centers, hardware stores and online.

[Christina]

Where can one buy a kit for lead detection?

[Mike]

NPR had a radio interview with an executive at Consumers Union. Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16034266

They even touched on the differing results between CPSC and Consumers Union. The executive noted that the tests and results were largely similar, just that the interpretations were different. The three recommended lead testing kits apparently detect *surface* lead paint fairly well. Therefore Consumers Union recommended them. However, no kit currently available can detect embedded lead, or lead coated with non-toxic paint. That led the CPSC to declare the same test results as "failures." So really, both organizations are trying to do their job. It's just an honest difference of opinion.

Conclusion: The kits are only good for testing paint & surface lead.

[mom in utah]

the CPSC is saying these home test kits aren't very reliable...who do you believe in this country???

[Nancy Cowles]

Thank you for posting this information. With all the toy recalls because of lead, Kids In Danger (KidsInDanger.org) has been hearing from parents concerned about what toys to trust. This gives them at least some information they can use to test the toys currently in their home.