I recently heard from with two families with soil contamination at extreme levels- in the range of 10,000-30,000 ppm lead. (NZ soil is considered contaminated at 160 – 210 ppm) At these extreme levels, a toddler shuffling around in a cloud of dirt could inhale enough lead to cause a notifiable blood level. Or a baby playing in the mud and putting a handful in their mouth is literally putting their life at risk.
Both these families have babies with blood lead levels just above the notifiable level (0.24 umol/L or 5 ug/dL) but they’re very lucky they aren’t much higher. One family is pulling out all the stops to completely make their home safe (while living elsewhere). The other family is too overwhelmed and might not take any action. In both cases the babies have no symptoms and were tested proactively. And in both cases the worst lead levels are right next to their house, presumably where the paint was sanded off straight onto the ground.
I also heard from someone last year (with soil around 2000 ppm) who contacted their local council seeking advice or assistance on how to deal with it. The staffer turned around and put their home on the HAIL register of national contaminated sites. This person was devastated for the affect on their home value.
All three of these families are stuck with a massive problem now because of a previous homeowner’s negligence. This is a common issue, and is STILL being done by some house painters today.
You can protect yourself by putting a condition on your next home purchase to make sure you know what you’re getting into. While any home might potentially be at risk (new homes built on former orchard land could be contaminated too), houses built before the 1950’s are at highest risk since lead levels in paint were highest then.
Remember a few years ago everyone was testing houses for methamphetamine? We need to make this happen for soil. Unlike with meth, lead contamination is a scientifically proven issue with decades of research behind it. Lead paint and contaminated soil are the biggest lead poisoning risks. Soilsafe Aotearoa are still doing free soil testing if you haven’t tested yours yet. For pre-purchase testing you’ll need to use a laboratory.
So let’s get testing! And never EVER let kids play in the soil right next to an old house.