Lead in paint and dust from a children′s nursery Available to Purchase

Paint and dust samples were collected from a children′s nursery in a London school. After chemical digestion using an available lead extraction method, lead concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Most samples analysed were considered to pose no hazard to the children. However, a few samples contained available concentrations in excess of 2,500ppm and were considered potentially hazardous. Such high concentrations were thought to be due to remnants of old paint applied prior to the introduction of regulations to limit the content of lead in paint. Although the lead‐in‐paint hazard has diminished in recent years, the possibility of old lead paint still being a hazard should not be ignored.