"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message ...

I think you are jumping to conclusions. Some groups of people are
subject to pica (eating dirt), is your child one? The reason I ask,

No, not actually. The tub is one of several things which we are
looking at, and, to-date, the ONLY one with obvious lead present and
accessible. Therefore, I will address it while I pursue, in parallel,
other avenues.

is that it is extremely unlike that the child got leaded by having
baths. Here are the possibilities that you need to consider for the

Having baths wouldn't be the problem. But touching the bathrub, and
then putting hands in mouth would be. In any case, even if the tub
isn't the primary source of lead, it is A tested source of lead, so
I'm fixing it.

source of the lead in decreasing order of likelyhood: 1. previously
dwelling, 2. paint chips that the child eats, 3. cookware, especially
crockery, 4. household plumbing, 5. domestic water source (well,
municipal, private). You should immediately monitor the food and
everything that the child put in his/her mouth and provide a good
driking source such as a britta or other filter water.

Yes, we are doing all these things, too. 3,4 are probably not the
problem. Test for 5 is pending. 1 is less likely, since previous
tests while living at the old residence were negative. 2 is harder to
evaluate.

Lastly, why would you test your child for lead? and was this done at
a regular doctors office?

It is actually a very standard test done by the doctor, and is
mandated by law in some localities, especially where the housing stock
is older.

I agree with another responder that it is
highly unlikely that the child has had a singificant increase in lead
levels in two months. You need to question the doctors and get test
done by a different lab.

Again, I'm definitely not being confrontational, but what do you base
this assertion on? Do you know what the uptake or elimination time is
for lead? I infer that it is near 3 months, based on the recommended
retesting interval for affected children. So, there will likely be an
observable effect after 2 months, and in fact, the levels will
possibly go up before they go down again, even if all lead sources are
removed now. In any case, retests are scheduled, as are tests of the
other kids.

As for the tub, any good paint will encapsulate the lead. You could
paint it with a high quality water based enamel, an oil based enamel
or whatever but it might not last for more than an year before
starting to flake off. You need a good two part epoxy paint for it to
last a long time.

Good luck.

OK, thanks.