Both families had the source already in the house. Both blood results came back over the action level. Both could have been caught with the kit in a drawer.
Pre-1978 rental. Freshly painted. New tenants. Two children under 5. The painting concealed a chalking under-layer the inspector never tested.
The unit was beautiful. The lead inspector signed off on the visible trim. The crawl-space sub-floor was the source. Six months later the four-year-old came back at 11 µg/dL.
— EBLL Case A
Two-story farmhouse. Grandparents' visit weekend. The dishes pulled out for the dinner were vintage hand-painted folk pieces. The acidic-tomato roast and the painted glaze gave a 32 µg/kg dose in one sitting for the toddler.
The most-missed pediatric source in the dataset. The ceramic is fine on display. It is not fine under tomato sauce.
Behavior change. Sleep change. Pediatrician orders the blood test.
5-11 µg/dL. Parents had no candidate source in mind.
EBLL case worker visits. Dust wipes, paint chips, soil samples. The source was already in the house.
Blood half-life is months to years. The IQ damage does not reverse.
