So, back before christmas our youngest tested a bit high for lead levels, so they sent someone out to go over the house and check lead levels. The house is an old house, 1920-30 build date, but it tested good due to many remodels. However, the barn has lead paint, however it was painted over so it is sealed and contained. The issue is the barn floor. It is a dirt floor, and they took 1 sample of soil which came back positive for lead at 800ppm. This has us very concerned as we spend a lot of time in the barn. It's my work area, kids play out there all the time, etc. At this point, we're moving all the kids toys over to the garage, and anytime I'm out there I'm wearing rubber boots and hosing them off before coming in the house. From the sounds of it, about our only options are covering the soil(concrete, or plastic/stone) after digging out the top layer of soil, or just finding a new place and moving. Has anyone on here ever dealt with a situation like this, or deal with lead and maybe have better advice?

Do you own this place?, no other lead around the barn? What shape is the barn in?

If it's all good, I'd think putting in a concrete floor right over the existing dirt would seal it off fine without digging it out...

the issue would be in the dust , some one likely did a bunch of lead work out there at some point.

are you a reloader , do you run a vibratory tumbler or was anyone in the past , something happened to put lead dust out there.

removing's 6 inches , washing down the walls and putting gravel down would probably be enough

concrete would be even better as you could wash it down regular and get whatever you track in as well

what about the rest of your property? Is there lead in the barn from somebody smelting in there or is it natural? If its just the barn I dont know why you need to remove the dirt if you cover it with concrete.

I would think you named both of your options. The problem now is if you sell the place soil remediation will be necessary because you know the ground is polluted or you will have to notify potential buyers to remove your liability. Just a guess at best. Either way sounds like it’s gonna cost you. I think I would go with the soil removal and concrete replacement. That way you can look at it as being an improvement. sorry for your loss.

if you cover it in concrete you wouldn't need to remove any but you may not want to give up ceiling height and have to cut down doors , so removal might be good or not necessary

who is "they"

Lead is particarly bad for young, developing brains, not quite so bad for adults.
I think if it were me, I would remove the top few inches of soil, wash or paint the interior walls, and lay down a few inches of crushed rock.
Did they also test the soil in other places? Some regions have high levels of naturally occuring metals.

The paint on the barn walls may be covered with newer paint but the lead is still there and will continue to flake off with the covering paint over time. Covering (encapsulating) these surfaces is better. Completely removing lead based paint is best. The people who did the testing can recommend companies that do this.

I agree with the idea of concrete but there may be cheaper methods. Companies that do paint encapsulation may be able to help you there too. 800 ppm is very high, imho, so you’ll want to take care of it soon!

Set up a 10X20 grid and take composite samples. Four in each corner and one in the middle, mix in a clean container(composite) and send off for analysis. One grab sample can give you biased view of your problem.

Find out what it's gonna cost you to remove it and dispose of properly. You'll likely crap your pants. Generally it's best to leave it in place and seal it up, like with a concrete slab.

What is the value of a barn with a dirt floor vs. a barn with a concrete floor? Might be worth it.

Moosetrot

So, to answer a few of everyone's questions. The person who did the testing was sent out by the doctors office, and from my understanding he works for the medical corporation.

To the best of my knowledge, there was no reloading done in the bark ever. I do reload in the house, but do not vibratory tumble my brass, and my supplies and reloading is all dontein its own separate room.

As far as I'm aware, the barn was used many many years ago for casting g concrete burial vaults, not sire what materials may have been used for that 50-60-70 years ago though.

Concrete I feel would be the best option, as I'm not worried about losing ceiling height because it is open rafters with no ceiling. The building is approx 80x30 though, so I know concrete will not be a cheap option, even woth my material discount through work.

All the lead pain is on the exterior of the building, not inside. The inside is just bare old wood that was never painted, except for one little section of wall where there was an extension put onto the building years ago. Unfortunately, right in front of that wall I believe is where he took the sample from as that is where most of the toys were stored, as we did not realize that was lead paint on that little piece of wall.

As far as doing more sampling, I may do that if I can figure out how to test it, or where to send it to be tested in order to get a more thorough test

Told you how to test the area.

You're fine. Scoop out the dirt in the barn and put some gravel down. If there's lead on the outside of the barn, most painting companies offer a service to do lead remediation and re-paint.

Also, during covid my kid tested positive for having high lead levels. As parents, we freaked out. Brought my son in for another test and his levels were perfectly fine, no issues whatsoever. The test was wrong and the doc said that the test often has false positives.

Add 6" of base of 1" base rock. If you decide to pour later it will be compacted from the travel and you'll just have to pour a ramp up through your door if you park equipment in it

Lead poisoning is every where, I bet 9 out of ten and maybe ten out of ten people have lead poisoning if they are tested with a provoked urinalysis test, it's very hard to rid yourself of lead and insurance companies will not cover the procedure. You can use cilantro and chlorella which will work if you keep after it. Not sure what you use your barn for but if there's not heavy equipment on it concrete wouldn't have to be as heavy?

You told him how to sample the area. Was that four samples in each corner, like you said or one in each corner and one in the center?

We had our youngest tested twice, once was a regular test, then they wanted to do a "veinous" test,and both came back high. We took our oldest today to get blood drawn to see what his levels are.