Welcome To The National Center for Healthy Housing Environmental Lead Laboratory List

This list was developed to help individuals find the laboratory that best fits their needs. It provides details on laboratory services for analyzing lead in single dust wipe, soil, and paint samples. The information was completed in the fall of 2000 and is updated regularly. [last update: December, 2002] Next update is scheduled for January 2003.

Factors to Consider in Selecting a Lab:

(For more information: Fact Sheet #4 Selecting a Lead Laboratory)

• Is the lab recognized by the EPA as accredited under the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP)?  All laboratories on this list are recognized as NLLAP accredited by the EPA. 
• Can the lab provide the instructions and supplies you need for sample collection? To collect lead dust samples you will need wipes, gloves, tubes to ship samples to the lab and materials to measure the sample area (templates, a ruler or a measuring tape and tape to mark the area).  Careful measurement of the collection area is essential for an accurate result.
• Can the lab provide you with field quality control samples?  If you are generating a large number of samples you should consider monitoring the laboratory being used with quality control samples. These samples contain a known amount of lead and are submitted to the lab with other samples collected in the field (as if they are a typical unknown sample). The results reported by the lab can be compared to the actual amount of lead known to be present in the sample. Infrequent users of laboratory services do not need to monitor using quality control samples, but should choose a laboratory based on performance and quality as well as price. (List of labs supplying field QC samples.)
• Can the lab accurately report low levels of dust lead in a submitted sample? NLLAP now requires that accredited laboratories be able to report dust lead levels at or below 20µg. Most floor lead levels in the United States are below 20µg/ft^2.
• Can the lab provide results as quickly as you need? The standard time that a lab needs to analyze your sample and the price for this service vary widely. Many labs can fax results to you 24 hours after receiving the sample.

Note: Only labs providing services to the general public are listed here.

To begin your search, click on a region to see the labs listed in those states. For a detailed description of each lab, click on the lab. 

Region 1 - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Region 2 - New Jersey, New York, and Puerto Rico.
Region 3 - Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Region 4 - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Region 5 - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Region 6 - Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Region 7 - Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
Region 8 - Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Region 9 - Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.
Region 10 - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

For more information about including your laboratory on this list, please contact the National Center for Healthy Housing at (410) 992-0712 OR 1-(800) 312-3046