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Environmental risk investigations
If your child has received a blood lead test and the results exceed Public Health – Seattle & King County’s "action level" (5 micrograms per deciliter), your family is eligible to have a free visit from a Public Health staff member to look for potential sources of lead present in your home that may be contributing to your child’s lead level.
What to expect
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We will ask you a set of questions focused on housing, behavior of the child(ren), family lifestyle and travel.
These questions are designed to help narrow down the list of potential sources of lead to those relating specifically to your family. After potential sources of lead have been identified, a more in-depth look at those sources can take place. -
To further examine potential sources of lead in your house, a thorough walk-through will be done.
The walk-through occurs inside and outside the house. Key items that will be looked at include paint condition, surfaces and moisture barriers. -
Optional: Samples may be collected to further identify or confirm suspected sources of lead present in the house.
Types of samples that may be collected include paint chips, dust wipes, soil, and/or water. Any samples that are obtained will be submitted to a laboratory for analysis. -
Once all of the information has been collected and analyzed, a plan of action will be developed.
A plan of action will include a letter summarizing the investigation and a checklist of recommended activities or actions to reduce your child's exposure to lead. Your child will be advised to get additional blood lead test(s) until his/her level of lead is below the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention action limit. This plan of action will be mailed to you and the child's medical care provider. -
Periodically, the Public Health investigator will check in with you to see how things are going and answer any questions that may have come up.
We will continue to provide this service until your child's blood lead level has fallen below the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention action limit.