The test will not tell you your body burden of lead or the damage, if any, that has occurred. The blood lead test is unusual because for most toxic substances there are no tests available to tell you how much of a substance got in your body due to a recent exposure. Another test is called the ZPP Test . ZPP stands for zinc protoporphyrin. This test is different from the blood test in that it reflects your lead exposure over a 2-3 month period.
Lead enters a child's body mainly through ingestion.
It is a normal part of children's play to explore and put things in their mouths. Children are more affected by lead for a number of reasons. Since their bodies are rapidly developing, they also absorb more lead than adults and their developing brains are in greater danger of being hurt by the lead. The harder we look for lead poisoning in children, the more we find it. Over the years, the federal government has lowered the amount of lead in the blood that it defines as safe because researchers keep finding problems in children at lower lead levels.