Reliability of spot test kits for detecting lead in household dust

There has been a long-standing need for a technique that can provide fast, accurate and precise results regarding the presence of hazardous levels of lead in settled house dust. Several home testing kits are now available. One kit manufactured by Hybrivet (LeadCheck Swabs) is advertised as able to detect lead dust levels that exceed the US Environmental Protection Agency's dust lead standard for floors (40 μg/ft2). The purpose of the study was to determine the ability of LeadCheck Swabs to instantly detect lead in dust above EPA's hazard standard. A trained risk assessor collected 200 LeadCheck Swab samples side-by-side with standard dust wipe samples. The result of the LeadCheck Swab (positive (pink or red) or negative (yellow to brown)) was compared with the laboratory results for the corresponding dust wipe (over or under 40 μg/ft2). The LeadCheck Swabs produced a false negative rate of 64% (95% confidence interval: 55%, 72%). The likelihood of a swab producing a false negative depended on substrate (painted or non-painted) and surface type (floor or sill). Changing the interpretation rule by classifying all swab colors except yellow as positive yielded lower false negative rates under some test conditions, but still produced high error rates. LeadCheck Swabs do not reliably detect levels of lead in dust above 40 μg/ft2 using published methods under field conditions. Further research into alternate methodologies and interpretation guidance is needed to determine whether the swabs can be appropriately used by consumers and others to test homes for lead dust hazards.