Any chemists here able to comment on the recent lead test kits around? Eg lumetallix.com and detectlead.com. I have one and like it but don’t know how accurate it is.
Had some leaded Pyrex among other things
Had some leaded Pyrex among other things
Some of the authors of that paper founded Lumetallix.
Lead in general is also a common component of ‘impure’ zinc (from the mine/foundry).
So chances are, your tests are correct.
Please keep your terms correct. Zamac is a very useful thing to look for in hobby metal casting because you can buy ingots for fairly cheap that will melt in your kitchen (I would still do it outside) and have useful known properties thus ensuring good results. Pot metal is a low quality product that you could also work with in your kitchen, but you have no idea what the results will be.
I went looking for leaded solder(!) recently.
Turned out it's got quite hard to buy in the EU, but I was able to purchase it online from a US supplier and have it shipped.
It's not like it's banned or anything, it's just not allowed to be used in (most) consumer electronics.
"It is restricted to professional users and cannot be supplied to the general public (non-trade customers)"
Are RS Online gold-plating the regulations? Probably. I bought from Digikey USA instead.
As I understand it, the biggest source of lead that gets inside people is paint, especially where windows rub against it. And sometimes lead paint has been painted over but can still become airborne when abraded. I would be surprised if these tests can detect it.
Get an XRF test instead — this will quantify the amount of lead at or even under the surface. You can do this by getting a lead testing contractor to come over, and a friendly one will test as many spots as you like in a single visit. Or I suppose you could try to buy the machine, but it isn’t cheap.
(Wirecutter says the main ingredient in these fluorescence tests is methylammonium bromide.)
Do you live in an older property or do you think there might be a significant amount of lead-containing paint in your living/working environment?
(Not suggesting lead isn't a problem, but I've dealt with a bunch of much, much more toxic substances [full disclosure: PhD Chem])
FWIW, the UK banned lead paint over 30 years ago, lead water pipes 55 years ago, and leaded petrol 25 years ago.
There's a paper suggesting lead pollution may be approaching natural background levels https://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i40/Lead-pollution-approache...
Not a great combo.
"In the home, lead pipes, red lead paint on metal work, leaded paint on windowsills, bannisters, door frames and doors can still exist. Lead paint was common before the 1970s and although lead paint has not been used after 1992, prior to this UK paint may have contained up to 50% lead by weight (500,000 mg/kg), which is potentially capable of causing lead poisoning in a small child if they eat just a single flake. Leaded paint at these concentrations may still be found in non-remediated Victorian properties, often below newer non-leaded paint."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lead-poisoning-ad...
and
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lead-exposure-in-...
Although one shouldn't underestimate potential lead contamination in soils, too. As an undergrad I recall doing a lab in which we had to look for heavy metal contamination in the soil in a nearby public park, starting at the edge of the park right next to a busy road, and then taking samples towards the centre of the park. Unsurprisingly there was measurably higher contamination close to the road, falling away with distance from the road.
We use a 20 000€ machine with radioactive material to measure the amount of lead, so not everyone can get it but you can definitely ask a technician to do it.
Cost around 300€, depends of the house size and he checks every single part of every single room that can contain lead paint. Very tedious.
I know that the same laboratory we send asbestos for measurement also did lead measurement.
If you got only a few place you are concerned, you could scrape it yourself and sent it to them.
Otherwise it's considered that lead in paint is only dangerous when the paint is old and it fall down, so that kids could eat it or if you're repainting the window and you scrub it without mask.
To my knowledge, the lead pipe are much more dangerous because there is nothing you can do. It's all city property and even if you don't drink city water, you still get poisoning from factory and restaurant using that water to make food.
I’m reasonably confident that these machines use electrically powered X-ray generators and that no radioactivity is involved.
How carefully you read and understand a report depends on multiple factors, but definitely there are many people in Europe that take lead paint seriously.