Info Pack - Managing lead hazards in childcare centres and schools

Information collated by Elizabeth O'Brien, President, The LEAD Group Inc.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has in May 2016 published a series of fact sheets at www.epa.nsw.gov.au/lead including a fact sheet for childcare/school operators and staff, which states:

“For further information and advice about protecting yourself from lead, testing for lead and removal services and guidelines for safe home renovation, call The LEAD Group on 1800 626 086 or (02) 9716 0014. Laboratory lead test kits are available from The LEAD Group (www.leadsafeworld.com/shop)...”

See:

• Fact Sheet: Lead hazard management in children’s services - http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/pesticides/lead-childcare-fact-sheet-160209.pdf

The original edition of the above fact sheet was a 15 page booklet (see the full series list above):

Lead Hazard Management In Children's Services (Brochure 15 pages) PDF

 https://lead.org.au/fs/lead_safe/Lead_Hazard_Management_In_Childrens_Services.pdf - which states (on page 5):

“TESTING FOR LEAD 

“Because most children and adults who have been exposed to lead show no symptoms until high levels are reached, the best way to confirm excessive lead exposure is a blood test....

(and on page 8) “If the property was built before 1970 or you suspect lead may be an issue, organise a lead audit as soon as is feasible.”

Sadly, the lead auditors who were working in Sydney at the time the above was written have stopped working as lead auditors but happily, one of them, Jason Bawden Smith donated the Lead DIY-Sampling Laboratory Testing Kit that he’d developed for his far-away clients, to The LEAD Group. This LEAD Group Kit is what the NSW EPA now recommends for testing childcare centres and schools (as well as homes and other workplaces) for lead (and other metals). Even eggs (which are grown at some preschools and schools) can be tested for lead using a LEAD Group Kit – egg preparation entails an additional cost but the LEAD Group Kit price includes laboratory analysis and reporting.