Comparison of Methods for Evaluating the Influence of Leaded Paint on Indoor Dust Lead Concentrations. C. Petito Boyce, PTI Environmental Services, 15375 SE 30th Place, Suite 250, Bellevue, WA 98007; and M. V. Ruby, PTI Environmental Services, 2995 Baseline Road, Suite 202, Boulder, CO 80303
Leaded paint is a widely recognized potential source of lead exposures in young children. In particular, deteriorating leaded paint can provide a direct exposure source for young children or can contribute to lead concentrations in residential indoor dust or yard soils and to children's exposures resulting from contacts with these environmental media. As a result, appropriate characterization of the contributions of leaded paint to children's lead exposures has been an important component of environmental health lead studies that have sought to identify and characterize children's lead exposure sources. During a recent investigation of outdoor soil and indoor dust concentrations of lead in a community that is the site of a former zinc smelter, several alternative approaches were applied to assess the potential for leaded paint to influence indoor dust concentrations. These include qualitative evaluations based on such information as the age and condition of the home, data regarding lead concentrations in paint measured using x-ray fluorescence techniques, and (for a subset of the investigated homes) speciation data indicating the proportion of lead present in indoor house dust samples that could be attributed to paint sources. The results of each of these approaches to characterizing the influence of leaded paint on indoor dust lead concentrations will be compared. The implications of the results of these comparisons for design and interpretation of environmental health lead studies will be discussed.