The final clean-up of residential lead abatement projects in federally-supported housing, as well as in other housing in a number of states, must meet surface dust lead clearance levels expressed as μg of lead per square foot. These clearance levels were established because hand-to-mouth ingestion of lead-contaminated dust is recognised as a major pathway through which many children are exposed. A dilemma exists because many floors in housing undergoing abatement are carpeted and the established clearance levels are generally not recommended for use on carpets. These clearance levels are also used as 'action levels' to determine whether exposure reduction activities are needed. The US Environmental Protection Agency is currently in the process of issuing standards for hazardous levels of lead in interior dust and bare soil under Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, ‘The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992’. An effort to develop a potential surface dust lead clearance level for carpets was made using an existing vacuum dust collection method that has previously been shown to be a reliable indicator of childhood lead exposure. This method was designed for use on carpeted and non-carpeted surfaces. Using data from the Cincinnati Soil Lead Abatement Demonstration Project, the suggested floor-dust lead level where an estimated 95% of the population of children would be expected to have blood lead values below the national goal of 10 μg dL−1, was more than an order of magnitude lower than the current floor-dust lead clearance level of 1080 μg m−2 (100 μg ft−2). Further comparisons of blood lead and carpet lead levels in other parts of the country should be performed before a risk-based lead loading clearance level is established.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and several states have established floor and window dust lead clearance levels that must be met following lead-based paint abatement. These levels are also used as action levels to determine when exposure reduction measures are needed. Data are lacking on the relationship between these levels and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) goal of having no more than 5 percent of children with blood lead levels above 10 μg/dl. Similarly, little information is available on the relationship between results using the HUD-prescribed surface wipe dust sampling method and a vacuum dust collection method utilizing a personal air sampling pump as a vacuum source, which has been used in a number of lead exposure studies. Blood lead, paint lead, and floor dust lead levels by both methods from 53 households in a mining community with lead paint sources were examined to help answer these questions. Results suggest that the HUD floor clearance level may not be low enough to achieve the CDC childhood blood lead goal. The two dust collection methods were found to be statistically correlated. Vacuum dust lead was correlated to paint lead, but wipe dust lead was not.

The primary objective of this study was to ascertain whether children living in close proximity to mill tailings and a former lead smelter site were currently exhibiting elevated blood lead (PbB) concentrations. To address this issue, the mean PbB for community children and the relationship between PbB and the proximity of the child's residence to the site was estimated. A secondary objective was to identify and quantify accessible lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) in the environment (e.g. Pb in soil, dust, paint and water or As in soil and dust). A third objective was to test for association between specific sources of environmental Pb and PbB and to estimate the relative contribution of these proximate sources of lead to the children's PbB. The data analytic methods allowed estimation of both direct and indirect impact of environmentally accessible Pb. The average PbB level of all children screened in Midvale was 5.2 μg dL−1. Three percent exceeded 15 μg dL−1; 12.7% exceeded 10 μg dL−1. Pb-based house paint and Pb contaminated soil were identified as principal contributors to PbB. PbB was found to increase 1.25 μg dL−1 per 1,000 ppm increase in lead in soil. Proximity of residence to the mill and smelter site was found to be a strong predictor of Pb in soil, and therefore indirectly related to increases in PbB.