In Michigan, a blood lead level of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) or higher is considered elevated. That is the state's legal threshold for an Elevated Blood Lead Level (EBLL) finding. It is also the threshold that triggers public-health follow-up, county investigation, and — if the affected child lives in a pre-1978 rental — Michigan PA 434 liability for the landlord.
The hard thing about lead exposure is that most people with an EBLL do not look or act sick. Lead is a silent threat. A blood test is the only way to know. Michigan now requires that test for every child at 12 and 24 months — read our companion post on the universal blood lead testing law (MCL 333.5474d) for the regulatory background.
The state's official Learn About Lead page at michigan.gov/mileadsafe/learn lists six lead pathways every Michigan home can have. Here's what each one is, what it looks like, and what you can do about it before it costs you anything more than a phone call.
Pathway 1: Paint
Pre-1978 homes almost always have lead-based paint somewhere under the current finish. The lead is inert when undisturbed. It becomes dangerous when chipping, peeling, friction-worn (window sashes, door frames, stair treads), or sanded / scraped during renovation.
What you do: walk through your home once a season looking at painted surfaces. Anywhere paint is chipping or peeling — especially on a window sash, a door frame, or a porch ceiling — call a Michigan-certified lead inspector or risk assessor through MDHHS's Hire a Lead Professional registry. Before any renovation touches painted surfaces, confirm your contractor holds an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm credential. See the master Michigan Lead Law guide for the regulatory mechanics.
Pathway 2: Dust
Lead-bearing paint that weathered into dust is the most common EBLL source after direct paint chip ingestion. Window wells, door thresholds, baseboards, and any horizontal surface below a chipping painted edge accumulate lead dust over years.
What you do: wet-wipe (not dry-dust) painted window sashes and sills weekly. Vacuum with a HEPA-filtered vacuum, not a standard one. Standard vacuums redistribute fine dust rather than capture it.
Pathway 3: Drinking water
Lead enters drinking water from corroding pipes, solder, or fixtures — primarily lead service lines installed before Congress banned them in 1986. Michigan's Lead and Copper Rule, the strictest in the nation, requires every water utility to inventory and replace lead service lines.
What you do: call your water utility, ask whether your service line contains lead, and ask whether you qualify for one of the free state filter programs. The four statewide programs are summarized in our MDHHS faucet-and-filter referral guide.
Pathway 4: Soil
Pre-1978 exterior paint shed lead into the soil around the foundation over decades. The contamination usually rings the house in a 2-4 foot band and is heaviest under windows, eaves, and any heavily weathered exterior detail. Children playing in that soil ingest it — one of the harder pathways to eliminate because kids don't notice they're doing it.
What you do: get a soil test through your county health department or a certified Michigan lab. If readings are elevated, mitigation is straightforward — cap the affected ring with mulch, sod, or pavers to break the ingestion pathway. Soil remediation outside the foundation ring is rarely necessary.
Pathway 5: Certain jobs and hobbies
Workers in renovation, demolition, automotive radiator repair, firearms manufacturing, stained-glass work, indoor shooting ranges, and certain types of painting and refinishing carry lead dust home on clothes, shoes, and skin. The home becomes a secondary exposure site through that pathway.
What you do: if anyone in the household works in a lead-exposed trade, they should change clothes and wash before entering the living areas. Work shoes stay in the garage or mudroom. Work clothes get laundered separately, not with the family wash.
Pathway 6: Household items and imported goods
Traditional Mexican glazed pottery (sometimes used to store acidic foods), imported toys (especially pre-2009), traditional folk remedies (Ayurvedic preparations, certain Hispanic remedies), some imported spices (turmeric, chili powder), and some imported cosmetics have been found to contain lead. MDHHS publishes alerts when a specific batch is identified.
What you do: don't store acidic foods in decorative imported pottery. Check the MDHHS recall list before using imported cookware, toys, or remedies. For cosmetics, FDA maintains a separate import alert list.
The mitigation play that works on every pathway
Per the state Learn About Lead guidance, a diet high in calcium, iron, and vitamin C reduces how much lead the body absorbs from any exposure. That doesn't replace fixing the source, but it gives you a buffer while you do the source work. Dairy, leafy greens, beans, lean meat, and citrus all count.
What to do this week
- Schedule a blood lead test for any kid at 12 or 24 months — it's now state law.
- Walk through your home looking for chipping paint near windows, doors, and porch ceilings. Take photos of anything concerning.
- Call your water utility and ask the lead-service-line question.
- If you're planning any renovation, vet your contractor's EPA RRP firm credential. See the master Michigan Lead Law page for the framework and the county pages for local enforcement posture: Washtenaw, Wayne, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee.
Lead is a silent threat in 84-100% of pre-1978 Michigan homes. The good news: every one of these pathways is manageable once you know it's there. The bad news: most homeowners don't look until a blood test comes back elevated. Don't wait for that signal.
If you need an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm to handle the paint side during a renovation, ECT operates a flat-rate service across southeast and central Michigan. See where we work and how a job runs.