Lead Screening

Lead: There is no safe level of lead exposure in children. Evidence suggests that low blood lead levels can have adverse health effects on a child’s cognitive function.

Blood Lead Screening is recommended for children who:

• in the last 6 months lived in a house or apartment built before 1960;
• live in a home with recent or ongoing renovations or peeling or chipped paint;
• have a sibling, housemate, or playmate with a prior history of lead poisoning;
• live near point sources of lead contamination;
• have household members with lead-related occupations or hobbies;
• are refugees aged 6 months–6 years, within 3 months of arrival and again in 3–6 months.
• have emigrated or been internationally adopted from a country where population lead levels are higher than in Canada.
• are at risk of lead exposure from water pipes.
• require diagnostic investigations for neurodevelopmental delays/disorders