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Long Beach Public Health Lab Now Offers Environmental Lead Testing
By Staff Writer
Published on Tue, Sep 22, 2026
Wondering if that old paint, dusty windowsill or patch of backyard soil contains lead?
The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Laboratory is now offering accredited environmental lead testing for residents, businesses and organizations to identify potential hazards.
The lab — which is the only local public health laboratory in California currently offering environmental lead testing — gives the community a convenient new way to test four types of samples:
- Air filters: To detect airborne lead generated by activities such as renovations, demolition, lead abatement or industrial work.
- Dust wipes: To check for lead-containing dust on surfaces such as floors, windowsills, window troughs and countertops.
- Paint chips: To determine whether painted surfaces contain lead, which can be especially useful during renovations, inspections and hazard assessments.
- Soil: To identify lead contamination in outdoor spaces such as yards, gardens, playgrounds and other residential, commercial or public areas.
The testing service is available to residents, property owners, contractors, businesses, government agencies and environmental professionals throughout the region. Testing costs $18 per sample for government agencies and $30 per sample for private submitters.
Lead exposure can cause serious health problems, with young children and pregnant people among those who can be particularly vulnerable. The new service is part of the City's broader efforts to prevent and address lead exposure.
Other efforts to prevent lead exposure in Long Beach include the City’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, which provides case management and in-home environmental assessments for eligible families of children with lead poisoning, and the City's Lead-Based Paint Program, which focuses on education, investigation and enforcement related to lead hazards. The City also operates a federally funded program that helps address lead-based paint hazards in qualifying affordable housing built before 1978.
For residents interested in testing, the Public Health Laboratory can provide information about what samples to submit, how to collect them, testing fees and expected turnaround times. The lab can be reached at 562-570-4080 or PHL-Inquiries@longbeach.gov. More information is available at longbeach.gov/labservices.
