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QUESTION: What is the process and costs for lead testing a Sydney house before the end of the cooling off period? 08/03/12 New South Wales, Australia

Dear Lead.org,

I am in the process of buying a property in Sydney and I would like to test to see if lead paint has been used, as they have done an extension which may have disturbed existing lead paint.

If possible, I would like to get the results before the end of the cooling off period next Thursday 15th March.

The approximate age of the property is 1976 -1980.

What is the process and costs for lead testing?

Thanks for your help.

Kind regards,

Alayna

ANSWER: Mar 8 2012

Dear Alayna,

the cheapest process would be to become a member of The LEAD Group ($5 to join for one year) and then purchase our Comprehensive lead test kit for $250 by phoning 97160014 or completing the Membership and purchase details on the Kit Order form 

The kit includes instructions for you to go to the house and select relevant sampling locations for paint, dust wipes, soil (especially accessible bare soil or vegie garden soil), ceiling dust (if there is a ladder and you can access the ceiling void dust via a manhole, by standing at the top of the ladder and collecting dust from around the manhole) and drinking water if the drinking water is rainwater collected in a tank on the property.

Once you've labelled the sample tubes and filled in the Chain of Custody form describing the samples you've collected, you then post or deliver the samples to the lab at Seven Hills, and email the form to us, for us to check it and forward it to the lab. Once the lab has both the samples and the emailed form, the usual turnaround time for analysis is one to two weeks but you can mark it urgent and they'll do their best to analyse the samples within a working day or two. Once we receive the results, we then write an interpretation and recommendations report and email it to you with the results.

The more expensive alternative is to pay one of the lab analysts to come out and collect the samples. Contact Tim Connor of Enviro Check on 0418490323 for a quote.

The most expensive option is to engage one of the Sydney lead assessors (by following that link you can get the contact details of) New Environment or SESA - who will charge you for travel, sampling, analysis and report writing (usually $500-$1000 depending on how many samples).

All the best with ensuring your new home is lead-safe

Yours Sincerely

Elizabeth O'Brien

EMAIL TWO: Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 3:53 PM

For normal post, it usually takes 2 days but we can put for next day delivery express postage (for just additional $5 - before the post office close at 5pm today).

Yes, the cost of the kit include the sample testing, and our interpretation and recommendations report.

Yes, the lab analysis results will show total amount of lead in the paint.

There are eight sample containers in the kit so you are able to send up to eight paint samples if you are only interested in paint, but the best measure of lead safety in a home is in the dust wipe (especially of a children's play floor or child-accessible window sill - inside or outside) and soil samples.

Any sample container can be used for any sample type.

There is no danger in collecting the samples yourself as long as you follow the instructions, wear the gloves (provided in the kit), climb a ladder safely, and be aware that many manhole covers are made of asbestos fibro, so you should lift it up gently and put it aside to give you access to the ceiling void dust, if you decide to collect a ceiling dust sample.

Regards,

Ardhika Wira

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Last Updated 16 May 2013
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