Lead paint & ceiling dust management - how to do it lead-safely

by Elizabeth O'Brien, Manager, Global Lead Advice & Support Service (GLASS) run by The LEAD Group Inc.

Update 18 February 2010 [LID 9435]

Despite all the Australian literature referring to pre-1970 homes as being the problem, it was only in 1997 that the allowable level of lead in residential paint in Australia went down to 0.1% which is still higher than the US 1978 standard of less than 0.06% lead. So, if you are in a pre-1997 home the best thing to do is to ASSUME THE PAINT IS LEADED and deal with it in a lead-safe way. If you feel compelled to test for lead before deciding on the renovation method, then the Lead Check colour-change kits available in good hardware stores and paint trade centres will let you know whether the paint contains more than 0.5% lead. If your store doesn't stock them, you may need to tell the store manager that the importer/wholesaler is Air Met Scientific Pty Ltd on 1800 000 744 or 03 8878 3300.

Once you've either assumed or found that the paint is leaded, don't disperse it as fumes or dust or even by water-blasting unless the debris is vacuum extracted.

The next step is, ask the doctor to test everyone in the family for their blood lead levels, especially if you HAVE to stay in the house while renovating one cordoned-off room at a time. You certainly can't use any room that is actually being renovated. Children and pregnant women or those wishing to conceive should never be involved in the work or exposed to chemicals used in the renovation.

Please see  Primary Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning — The Only Solution to read why full lead paint removal is the best public health policy and best for all the future residents of your home. If you can't afford full paint removal, then lead-safe paint preparation is the minimum requirement to manage the paint, ie wet-scraping (spray surface with a water spray bottle held in one hand then scrape paint onto plastic sheeting taped or held down all the way around the edges), wet-sanding (using water spray bottle again and wet-and-dry sandpaper or sanding sponge intended to be used wet), then sugar-soap and then wipe down with water. After this preparation, the new paint should adhere as long as you have also solved any damp or mould problems too. Even when over-coated with well-adhering non-leaded paint, the old lead paint underneath is still a potential hazard for pets or children who chew paint off things, especially off woodwork such as windowsills, and down the track when it needs repainting again.

For full instructions, products, services and processes for lead-safe paint preparation or full lead paint removal or ceiling dust removal, please see:

"Lead Alert - The Six Step Guide To Painting Your Home" at

• www.environment.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/publications/pubs/leadpaint.pdf; and

• www.environment.gov.au/settlements/chemicals/lead.html;

The Queensland state government website contains the following:

• www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/subjects/hazardousmaterials/lead/

US Government websites have much useful information on lead paint including:

• www.hud.gov/lea/leahome.html

• www.epa.gov/lead/index.html

Australia's leading company for full lead paint removal, Let's Clean (in Sydney), can organise hire, lease or contracting of water rinsing equipment (called "Blue Vac" System) and sale of Heritage No 1 poultice for removal of lead paint and sale of Soy-Gel chemical stripper for removal of acrylic paint that might be on top of lead paint, and hire of a Speedheater infrared gun for direct stripping of lead paint eg from woodwork. (Chemical stripping is not recommended for woodwork, as lead from the stripped paint may be released from the wood grain when the wood is sanded prior to re-coating). Phone Let’s Clean on 02 9438 2047 or see:

• www.letsclean.com.au/pdf/soygel.pdf

• www.letsclean.com.au/Heritage_No1/heritage_no1.html

• www.letsclean.com.au/Blue_Vac_System/blue_vac_system.html

Other full paint removal products & equipment include:

• www.peelaway.com.au/assets/images/totalhouse150.pdf

• www.peelaway.com.au/total_projects_fwameset.htm

• www.floodaustralia.net/brochures/index.html

• www.i-strip.co.nz/page.php?pg_title=The%20System

To hire a painter with Lead Paint Management Training, please see www.lead.org.au/paintersall.html

See other useful guidance on hiring contractors and on training at:

• www.lead.org.au/clp/products/CTI%20Brochure.pdf

• www.lead.org.au/lat/lat008.html

See information on the hazards of cavity dust and when it should be removed, at:

• www.lead.org.au/bblp/Ceiling-Dust/index.htm

• www.adra.com.au and

• www.adra.com.au/ldr.html

The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change has neglected to web-publish its excellent "Lead Safe Fact Sheet - Lead in Ceiling Dust", so we have web-published it at http://www.lead.org.au/fs/fst37.html.

It is simply not recommended that you do your own ceiling dust removal so please contact a member of the Australian Dust Removalists Association (ADRA) - see www.adra.com.au/camcos.html - who can carry out the work in compliance with the ADRA "Code of Practice" and the "Guidance Note For Ceiling Dusts Containing Lead"  - by NSW WorkCover Authority.

If you have an old building then it's a pretty safe assumption that the paint will be leaded and that soil and dust will consequently be lead contaminated from previous flaking or chalking paint or from paint removal or release of building cavity dust during demolition etc. So testing for lead is probably an unnecessary expense prior to renovating unless you need to convince someone to use lead-safe renovation techniques. 

But AFTER you have managed your lead paint and cavity dust, THEN is an excellent time to test the dust and soil to determine if further lead-contaminated dust clean-up or soil management is necessary, and this should be done prior to young children (or couples wishing to conceive) or pets using the renovated areas. Please see details of The LEAD Group's excellent DIY-sampling for home lead assessment kits or phone and order a kit today.

Anyone involved in the work should ask the doctor for a follow-up blood lead test a couple of weeks into the work or at the end of the work if the renovation period is short, to determine that their blood lead level has not gone up as a result of non-lead-safe practices.

Finally, please become a consumer who demands more information and warning labels eg about the dangers of lead paint, in the paint preparation section of your hardware store and especially on products like sandpaper, sanders, heat guns, flame guns etc - all the things you can poison yourself with and contaminate your home with. You can phone the Community Information Unit in Canberra on 1800 803 772, to request a whole box of (80 copies of) the booklet: "Lead Alert - The Six Step Guide To Painting Your Home" to be sent for FREE to your store!

Good luck with the work.!!

The LEAD Group Inc. Fact Sheet Index

 Last Updated 18 February 2010
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PO Box 161 Summer Hill NSW 2130 Australia
Phone: +61 2 9716 0014 Fax: +61 2 9716 9005