Lead dust-wipe sampling measures lead contained in settled dust on surfaces such as floors, window sills, and other horizontal areas.
A defined surface area is wiped using a specialized sampling wipe. The wipe is then submitted to a laboratory, and results are generally reported as the amount of lead per unit of surface area.
Dust-wipe sampling can be useful after renovation, during lead investigations, or when evaluating potential exposure to lead-containing dust.
Unlike paint-chip testing, which determines how much lead is present in paint, dust-wipe testing evaluates lead that has accumulated in accessible surface dust.