Hello,
I am a new Home Inspector in Ohio and i have had multiple clients ask me about Lead Paint testing. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on lead paint testing like what to use and how it is done and if it is worth doing?
Thanks,
Kieran Dowling
Homes built before 1978 may contain lead paint. Older homes, built before 1950, are very likely to contain lead paint. Lead dust is produced from lead paint. As the paint gets older, it may be damaged by moisture or friction if it’s disturbed.
" The US EPA regulates lead-based paint activities. Visit the US EPA website for information about inspections, risk assessments, project design and abatement activities at Lead-Based Paint Abatement and Evaluation Program: Overview | US EPA.
If you perform lead inspections, here’s an agreement for lead inspections."
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Hi Kieran, for me I’ve found that it’s not worth it, and with the exception of testing for Radon, I send all those who call about any other type of enviromental testing to a local company that I’m familiar with and that I know is qualified to do the job.
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I had a realtor ask me about testing for lead paint last week for the first time in years. If you are in a market where your clients want a lead paint test, then you should consider testing for it. Here, it rarely comes up. Regarding the aforementioned inquiry, the house was built in 1978, so I said that since there was a high probability of lead-based paint hiding at the bottom of the paint layers, I didn’t consider it to be cost effective to test for it. Just act like you have it. Don’t eat the paint.
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It depends on what part of the state you are in. I am in the Cleveland area and they have a lot of programs for people to get money to get lead abatement done or use interim controls. For that reason, they are in such need of inspectors that the state pays for the class and the testing to try to get more people in the field. Everywhere is different, but I know Cleveland and Toledo are in desperate need of all types of lead workers, from abatement contractors, risk assessors and clearance technicians. Lead paint inspections can be expensive for use since it basically requires an XRF gun, but you can also rent them and still make a good profit. Also for the next couple of years there should be a good amount of work coming into the lead inspection field. Ohio just added millions of dollars into there fund for fixing lead problems
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If you’re going to do it, go for the gold standard… radioactive testing
Is that one without the radioactive core?
Yes, that’s the tube based model. These machines are really great. They give you the depth of the paint layer with the lead, and the concentration. In many cases they’ll clear (e.g. “no lead problem”) a section of paint that shows red on a chemical tests (the chemical tests are too sensitive for diagnostics, really crude).
The radioactive units fade over time, so there’s a cost to replace the core.
Yeah those are dope. You don’t have to do the substrate calculations either, it makes it hella easy.