A pilot study examining changes in dust lead loading on walls and ceilingsafter lead hazard control interventions

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines on le ad hazard control instruct contractors to clean floors, windows, walls, cei lings, and other horizontal surfaces to remove lead-contaminated dust and d ebris after lead interventions are conducted. This dust removal activity ad ds costs to each project. The need to clean floors and windows is well docu mented in the HUD guidelines. However, there is substantially less document ation to support the recommendation to clean walls and ceilings. We examine d whether it is necessary to clean walls and ceilings after lead hazard con trol (LHC) interventions by comparing dust lead loadings measured on these surfaces before an LHC intervention to dust lead loadings after the interve ntion. Twenty-two dwelling units undergoing substantial LHC, measures consi stent with the HUD guidelines were enrolled in the study. There was a signi ficant increase in dust lead loading on walls and ceilings between the pre- and postintervention. The change in wall dust lead loading was substantial and created potentially harmful lead exposures. Although statistically sig nificant, the change in ceiling dust lead loading was minima and the postin tervention dust lead loadings were far below the existing federal floor dus t lead clearance standard. These results strongly support the recommendatio ns in the HUD guidelines to clean walls after LHG interventions and do not provide sufficient justification to alter the current recommendation to cle an ceilings after lead work.