Lead leachability refers to how likely it is for things with lead in them to release that lead into the environment, especially into water or soil. It is pretty toxic stuff that can mess up people’s health and the environment. Did you know that lead seeps out of old pipes, paint or contaminated soil when it gets wet? That lead contaminated water can travel and impact the waterways and vegetation nearby.
Lead Exposure
Lead exposure, whether by swallowing it, breathing it in, or even just touching it, can cause all sorts of problems, especially for kids and pregnant women. It can mess with development, cause learning issues, and lead to serious health troubles, even in adults!
Keeping an eye on lead leachability is super important for making sure our drinking water is safe, preventing environmental pollution, and looking out for everyone’s health. This means things like swapping out old lead pipes, fixing up contaminated soil, treating water to get rid of lead, and properly disposing of lead-painted materials.
Lead Testing
How do we know how much lead is present? Great question, it’s not as simple as buying a test kit off of the internet. To get a true count on the levels of lead present, a certified laboratory must examine the sample using extraction techniques and a powerful microscope. Amity Environmental has dedicated staff ready to come out and test your property for lead. We are just a call away!
Postive for Lead, Now What?
If your samples come back positive for lead, we are here to help. The province legislates that any sample over 90 parts per million is considered to be lead contaminated and will have negative health impacts. It is best practice that if you find an item that has been painted with lead paint that is above that threshold, you should have it removed and discarded by a professional.
Key Markers for identifying lead paint:
- Age of the paint: Paint used before 1978 is likely to contain lead.
- Visual inspection: Lead paint may have a distinctive chalky appearance, especially on older surfaces.
- History of the building: Buildings constructed before the 1978 ban on lead-based paint are more likely to have lead-containing paint.
- Alligator skin appearance of old dried paint
Amity Environmental Inc.
(403) 667-8264
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