More than 9,000 Iowa children were tested for exposure to lead this year.

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 in humans 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 a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer and an 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.

Recent technological advancements in point-of-care testing allows many health care providers to perform lead testing. However, because of the significant public health threat from lead poisoning, the Hygienic Laboratory maintains the capability to provide this confirmatory testing for the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).