Lead Levels in Concrete

Painted Concrete

• Concrete does not normally contain high levels of lead, but paint on concrete may contain high levels of lead. If the concrete has been painted with latex paint, there is no risk of lead contamination since latex paints do not contain lead. With oil-based paints, though, the risk of high levels of lead increases if the concrete was painted before 1978. When you're removing concrete as part of a building demolition or renovation, you must test the paint on the concrete for the presence of lead. Concrete with high levels of lead poses a risk if used for ground filler or recycled for the production of new concrete.

Testing

• If you have any reason to suspect that the paint on your concrete may contain lead, you need to have the paint tested to confirm your suspicions. The U.S. EPA does not recommend at-home lead test kits to determine if lead is present in paint or to determine the level of lead present in the paint. Instead the EPA recommends hiring a hazard assessment expert to test for the presence of lead in the concrete’s paint. To avoid conflicts of interest, the EPA recommends that the hazard assessment expert be financially independent of any environmental remediation company you may consider hiring to remove the contaminated concrete, since such a connection may affect how the testing process is conducted.

Concrete Disposal

• Local laws dictate how any concrete that has paint with high levels of lead may be disposed. Some states, such as Wisconsin, allow concrete that has been painted with paint containing high levels of lead to be disposed in certain landfills where other hazardous waste is disposed of as well. If you are unsure about the laws where you live, contact your state or county government’s department of natural resources for clarification and guidance on the disposal of the concrete. If you do not wish to dispose of the concrete yourself, an environment remediation company can manage the removal and disposal process for you.

Lead in Soil

• Not properly testing and disposing of concrete that is painted with lead-based paints can result in high levels of lead in soil. When soil contains high levels of lead, children are especially at risk since they may play in the contaminated soil. The high levels of lead can also lead to the lead leaching into the water supply, as precipitation flows through the contaminated soil, transporting the lead to any water supplies.