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Lead Check Kits -
Questions and Answers
How do I milk Lead
Check kits to get more than one test per vial?
If you intend using the
Lead Check kits it is possible to get more than one test out of each vial.
Milking Lead Check kit:
-the tester looks rather like a cigarette, a cardboard cylinder with a compressed paper
plug at one end. Within the cylinder are 2 fine glass tubes containing chemicals. The
instructions with the kit are to squeeze the cylinder gently to break the glass, and shake
to mix the chemicals. They will then soak down through the "filter tip", then
wipe the tester over the painted surface and if lead is present, a pink or red colouration
will occur. However, this means that no other surface can be tested, although there is
adequate chemical in the tester for more tests.
Instead, we suggest that
you get a supply of Cotton Buds (about 6 per tester) and gently "milk" the
cylinder to soak the tip of a bud with chemical, then use it as a tester. The "filter
tip" can be used last. It is important to have the desired paint surfaces to be
tested ready before you start as the chemical deteriorates within two (2) minutes of the
two components being mixed.
Make sure you do the
fail-safe check supplied with the kit.
What are some of
the pitfalls of incorrect sampling?
A Cautionary Case study
A man had his parents use
Lead Check to test paint on the home he was about to renovate and later move into. The
parents got a negative result. The man went ahead heat gunning and sanding for four days
with the children occasionally coming over and playing in the dust. The man started
feeling sick, his four and a half year old anaemic daughter threw-up and it occurred to
the man that perhaps he should test the paint himself. The Lead Check went bright pink.
The difference- the parents tested the top layers only, the man tested the bottom layer
which dated from 1955
Where can I
purchase Lead Check kits?
Two-packs are available
from some major hardware stores (phone to check if your local store stocks them) and from
Pascol, Dulux or Wattyl trade centres (see attached lists or look up closest one in the
yellow pages under Paints).
Eight packs are available
from:
JBS Environmental Services
and Technologies (Suite 15 / 172 Clovelly Rd, Clovelly) Ph: 96656250
Sells 8 packs of Lead
Check kits for approximately $40.
Air-Met Scientific - 55
President Ave Kogarah. Ph: 9553 0200. Fax: 9553 0255
Air-Met does import the 8
pack Lead Check kits. They are priced at $62.00 per pack plus tax $75.64 including tax and
are available ex stock from the Melbourne warehouse.
Are Lead Checks
more reliable than other spot test kits?
Lead Check kits are the
only commercially available spot test kits in Australia. The company which manufactures
Lead Check kits claims that when the US EPA tested the range of spot test kits available
in the US, they found that Lead Check kits did not actually have any false negative
results. However, the US EPA wrote their policy based on the results of testing the full
range of spot kits. (see the attached 'Federal Lead testing technologies studies confirm
existing policy') So the conclusion that spot tests have an unacceptable number of false
positives and false negatives, may not relate to Lead Check kits. The Lead Advisory
Service is currently seeking written confirmation from the manufacturer for the claim that
Lead Checks do not give false negative results.
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