The test for lead level is a simple blood test, which gets sent to the lab for evaluation, so you may not receive the results for a week or so. A level over 15 is considered elevated and means that your child's physician will want to check these levels again, usually in a month. At this level, especially if the exposure was "acute" or temporary, such as during a brief period of renovation, long-term effects are unlikely.

When the blood level comes back over 20, it is very important to quickly locate the source of lead and eliminate it from the child's environment and continue re-checking the blood lead level to make sure it is going down. A blood lead level over 45 indicates an emergency and special therapy is usually instituted to immediately remove lead from the child's bloodstream. This treatment is called chelation therapy.