Lead Poisoning Prevention

To keep you and your loved ones safe, we provide home lead hazard inspections, nutritional assessments, preventative education, lead hazard reduction services, and social services referrals.

Children in Boston should be tested each year between the age of 9 months and 47 months.  If your child tests with a blood lead level of 10 or more, the information will be referred to our office. An environmental inspector and home health educator will reach out to you to schedule home visits. 

If you are a parent of a child under 6 years old concerned about possible lead in your home: 

1. Contact our office by emailing leadpoisoning@bphc.org and calling 617-534-5965. 
2. Complete a Parental Request form. 
3. Our team will schedule a home inspection and health education visit. Inspections and visits are based on staffing availability.

• Find a Massachusetts Licensed Lead Inspector to arrange a private lead inspection.
• Check if your home has a lead service line and learn how to get it replaced. 
• Check if your home has a lead compliance letter on file.
• Search Boston Public Health Commission Records by emailing us at leadpoisoning@bphc.org.

Contact your primary care provider to request a blood test for your child. If your child has an elevated blood lead level, our office will be notified and we will follow up with you. Even if your child’s blood lead levels are normal, you can contact us if you have concerns about lead in your home.

Screening:

• The only way to determine if your child has been exposed to lead is a blood test called a blood lead level. Contact your child’s primary provider to request a blood test. Children should get a blood lead test between 9 months to 12 months and again every year until they are 5 years old.
• If the blood test shows that your child has an elevated blood lead level, the Boston Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program will follow up with you.
• Even if your child’s blood lead levels are normal, you can contact us with concerns about lead in your home.

Our Services:

• Case Management: We provide case management, medical follow-up, and other interventions in collaboration with Boston Medical’s Pediatric Lead Clinic.
• Inspections and Enforcement of MA Lead Law: We can inspect your home to identify indoor and outdoor lead hazards. If we find lead hazards, we enforce the MA Lead Law, to ensure that hazards are corrected.
  • Inspections are mandatory if a child has been diagnosed with lead poisoning
  • If your home has lead hazards that your landlord does not correct, BPHC’s legal counsel brings the case to Boston Municipal Court’s Housing Division to ensure the violation is corrected
• Outreach and Education: We provide home and nutritional assessments, social services referrals and education to help keep your child safe. 

• The United States Environmental Protection Agency requires that at least one contractor per job is certified on lead-safe work practices if the job site is residential or a childcare facility built before 1978.
• The Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards (DLS) requires certification of all contractors working with lead hazards, including deleading contractors, and home renovation contractors who renovate, repair, and paint.

Training:

Find information on qualified trainers and training course options here. 

All properties must meet MA Lead Law requirements. They require all property owners to ensure that their properties are lead-safe if a child under age 6 lives there. If you have a lead service pipe on your property, you can now get it replaced for FREE thanks to a new program from the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Click here to learn more or call the Boston Water and Sewer Commission's Lead Hotline at 617-989-7888. 

Massachusetts Lead Law:

Property owners are responsible for complying with the MA Lead Law. The MA Lead Law requires properties to be lead-safe if a child under age 6 lives there.

• Lead paint hazards include loose lead paint and lead paint on windows and other surfaces accessible to children.
• If a child is poisoned by lead hazards on their property, the property owner will be held responsible and will need to correct the hazard.
• Property owners cannot evict or refuse to rent to anyone because of lead paint in their dwelling unit. It is discrimination if you do not rent to someone because your property has a lead hazard.
• You must do work on your home safely. Property owners must hire someone that is trained and licensed in lead-safe work practices if they are performing home renovations. Or, if they are trying to meet compliance with the Mass Lead Law, they must hire a licensed deleading contractor to delead the dwelling unit or residence and if the property owner or agent has some carpentry skills they can received training in moderate risk deleading, and address the hazard themselves.
• Search Boston Public Health Commission Records by emailing us at leadpoisoning@bphc.org.

TraininG:

Moderate Risk Deleading training is an 8-hour training appropriate for property owners and their agents who would like to address small lead hazards themselves.  You can check the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website for a list of other approved trainers.

Find a Specialist:

• Licensed Deleading Contractors
• Licensed Lead Safe Renovation Contractors
• Certified Lead Risk-Assessment and Inspection Firms
• Certified Lead Dust Renovation and Sampling Technicians