Children's blood lead and exposure to lead in household dust and water--a basis for an environmental standard for lead in dust.

Good quantitative evidence on the role of lead in household dust as a source of exposure to children has been lacking. A study of 495 children in Edinburgh, Scotland shows a significant relationship between lead in dust vacuumed from the floors of the children's homes and their blood lead levels. A multiple regression analysis incorporating drinking water and household dust estimates that a 1,000 micrograms g-1 increase in dust lead concentration would increase blood lead by 1.9 micrograms dl-1, for a child with the median population blood lead of 10.1 micrograms dl-1. Dust lead concentration is a more useful predictor of blood lead than lead loading. The sanding or blow-lamp stripping of old paint is found to be an important source of the higher household dust lead concentrations. Finally, the dust lead-blood lead relationship is used to derive a standard for lead in house dust, as no such standard exists for this exposure route.