The Hygienic Laboratory is the central testing laboratory for Iowa Department of Public Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. As such, the blood lead section tests for the presence of lead and is the state’s reference laboratory for confirmation of all capillary lead screening results. The two specialized instruments used to screen blood specimens are known as a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Results from these instruments are then analyzed by laboratory scientists to confirm the level of lead from venous blood specimens.