If you have been searching for blood lead test vs hair analysis in Kennewick, this page compares what each sample measures and which one is done at Spinal Fitness Health and Wellness Center, 214 E. Albany Ave, Building E101, Kennewick, WA 99336. The center runs hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA), listed at $270, processed by Trace Elements, Inc. A blood lead test is a blood draw processed by a clinical laboratory. The center’s lab list is hair tissue mineral analysis, dried urine hormone testing, 1000-pass medical genetic testing and HPA urine amino acid testing. To ask which question your sample should answer, call or text 509-670-9713.
What each sample holds
A blood sample measures the lead circulating on the day of the draw. The Analytical Research Labs (ARL) lead document states that blood tests do not identify lead that is stored in tissue, and names bone as the main storage site.
ARL’s 1989 book on toxic metals adds the timing. It states that blood lead reflects recent exposure, that only minimal amounts of lead remain in the blood about 30 days after an exposure because lead deposits in bone and brain, and that a blood test taken six weeks after an exposure can read normal while symptoms appear at three weeks. The same chapter reports hair lead concentrations often ten times greater than blood lead.
A hair sample measures the minerals laid into the hair shaft as it grew. Trace Elements reports each element in milligrams percent (mg%), and each reading averages roughly 2 to 3 months of growth. The sample is about 250 mg of scalp hair, cut at the scalp from several sites between the crown and the nape, using no more than 1½ inches (4 cm) of length. It is analyzed unwashed, because washing removes over 90% of the sodium and potassium.
The length limit has a measured basis. Trace Elements cut a 22-inch strand into 14 segments: calcium read 27 mg% at the scalp and over 200 mg% at the far end, so only the proximal 1½ inches reports current mineral status.
Where lead goes after it is absorbed
ARL states that lead behaves like calcium in storage and is deposited in bone when a calcium deficiency exists. When both minerals are present, ARL states, bone takes up lead first, because lead compounds are less soluble than the corresponding calcium phosphates.
ARL’s absorption figures are 1 to 10% of ingested lead in adults and up to 50% retained by a child. Lead elimination decreases with age as the metabolic rate falls, so stored lead accumulates over decades.
Stored lead can return to the blood later. The ARL document lists fever, acidosis, alkalosis, severe illness and stress as events that release lead from bone, and notes that symptoms can appear after the exposure itself has ended.
What the hair report reads for lead
The Trace Elements upper limit for hair lead is 0.5 mg%. The report also judges lead against the minerals that antagonize it, using the Trace Elements minimum toxic ratios: Ca/Pb at least 84 to 1, Mg/Pb at least 12 to 1, Zn/Pb at least 40 to 1, Cu/Pb at least 5 to 1, and Fe/Pb at least 4.4 to 1, loosened from 5.6 in the 2010 revision.
Trace Elements states that a Ca/Pb ratio below 84 to 1 indicates a potential lead toxicity even when the lead level itself is inside the acceptable range. A failed ratio beside a normal lead level is the hidden-toxicity reading, and a chart with a low Ca/Pb is read as a lead trend.
Lead also distorts the calcium reading. ARL states that lead can replace calcium, so an artificially normal calcium level can hide lead. The current Trace Elements calcium ideal is 60 mg%, ARL’s is 40 mg%, and the retired Trace Elements figure for 1985 to 1993 was 42 mg%; the review here reads calcium against both labs’ figures.
Watts wrote in the Trace Elements newsletter that hair assays reveal relative imbalances rather than absolute deficiencies, and that mineral ratio determinations carry more weight than individual levels alone.
Why lead can surface on a later test
ARL records hidden copper often appearing on the second or third hair test as it is mobilized from storage, and aluminum taking several tests to appear. ARL’s reading rule is that higher toxic metals on a retest usually mean active elimination rather than a rising body burden. Retests here are set 3 to 5 months apart, and the follow-up review guide covers what to bring.
ARL lists the symptoms reported while lead leaves storage as bone and joint pain, abdominal pain, constipation, fatigue, insomnia, irritability and a metallic taste in the mouth, and states that lead is eliminated gradually.
Blood and tissue disagree for other metals too
The same gap appears across the toxic-metal literature. ARL cites hair mercury at roughly 300 times the blood level (Prasad, 1976). ARL’s aluminum sheet states that blood levels do not indicate total body load. Trace Elements reports that serum iron varies up to 30% in one person across a single day and drops up to 50% with sleep deprivation, so a single blood iron value is interpreted cautiously.
ARL cites a May 1987 Lancet study of 800 English schoolchildren that used blood lead as its measure: the more lead in the children’s blood, the slower their learning rate, and the researchers found no safe level of lead.
Which sample answers your question
A blood lead test answers how much lead is in circulation on one day, read against that laboratory’s reference range. A hair tissue mineral analysis answers how lead sits against calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron in tissue over the last 2 to 3 months, and how that pattern moves between tests. The two samples measure different compartments, and a person can use both.
Before the hair sample is taken
Trace Elements asks that shampoos, conditioners and hair dyes be noted on the request form, and ARL’s 1987 source list includes hair coloring among lead sources. Cutting is done with high-grade stainless steel scissors only, because rusty blades add iron and chrome-plated blades add chromium.
ARL’s source list also names lead paint, ceramic glazes, lead plumbing, cigarettes and lead-soldered cans with acidic contents. That list dates from 1987, and its leaded-gasoline entry is historical.
Who reviews the chart
Eileen Durfee reviews every chart. She began hair tissue mineral analysis in 2010 under ARNP Julie Walker in Kennewick and worked directly with Analytical Research Labs. Eileen holds a NBS (Nutritional Balancing Science) degree, earned through Dr. Larry Wilson’s program beginning in 2011, and has practiced independently since autumn 2017. The HTMA lab testing walkthrough covers collection and turnaround at this address.
Booking a hair tissue mineral analysis
Lab visits are by appointment. Call or text 509-670-9713, evenings and weekends included, and ask for a hair tissue mineral analysis with a lead review. The center serves Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, West Richland, Benton City and Walla Walla.
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This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test for nutritional and toxic-element patterns and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
