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Blood Test Tracker

Lead, Urine

Measures lead in a single urine sample. It is less common than blood lead and is used mostly for follow-up or workplace monitoring.

AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewLOINC 5676-2

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What it is

Your kidneys clear some of the lead in your body into urine. This test measures the concentration of lead in a single urine sample, in micrograms (µg) per liter. Blood lead is the standard test for lead exposure, and urine lead is used as a second look in certain situations.

Why it matters

Urine lead can add information when a clinician is looking at lead exposure, especially at work. Because the number depends on how dilute the urine is, it is read together with blood lead and your history rather than on its own.

If it’s high

A higher result means there was more lead in your urine at the time of the sample. This often follows recent exposure, but a sample that picked up lead from a container or from skin can also read high. The number alone does not show how much lead is in your body or whether it is causing problems.

Common causes

  • Recent exposure to lead at work, at home or through a hobby
  • Contamination from a collection container or from skin
  • Recent use of a chelating drug, which makes urine lead rise and cannot be compared with a normal range

What can help

  • Ask your clinician whether a blood lead test should be done too
  • Ask how to find and reduce possible sources of lead at home or work

Usual ranges

What labs print as the reference range, by who was tested. Ranges differ a little between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against.

For adults: up to 5 µg/L. Source: ARUP Laboratories, CDC National Center for Health Statistics, American College of Medical Toxicology (Journal of Medical Toxicology).

What can affect your result

  • Recent exposure to lead
  • How dilute or concentrated the urine is
  • Kidney function
  • Contrast dye used for imaging in the past few days or weeks
  • Supplements, vitamins and minerals
  • Contamination from containers or skin
  • Containers and tubes that are not certified trace-element-free can add lead, and lead on skin can contaminate a sample.
  • Contrast dye used for imaging (iodinated or gadolinium-based) can interfere. ARUP rejects urine collected within 72 hours after contrast, and advises waiting at least 14 days if kidney function is impaired.
  • Supplements, vitamins and minerals can interfere. ARUP asks that any change be made on a physician's advice, so check with your clinician before collection.
  • Very dilute or very concentrated urine changes the concentration without changing how much lead is excreted.
  • Urine collected after a chelating (provoking) drug has no valid reference range.

Any time for a random sample. A 24-hour collection is a different test. Shows lead cleared by the kidneys around the time of collection.

When to talk to a clinician

Talk with the clinician who ordered the test about any result above the lab's range. Get urgent care for severe belly pain, repeated vomiting, confusion, weakness or seizures. ARUP does not list a critical value for urine lead.

Questions you could ask

  • Why was a urine test chosen instead of a blood test?
  • Do any of my supplements or recent imaging tests matter for this result?
  • Should we also check a blood lead level?
  • Could my collection or the container have affected this result?
  • Where might lead be getting into my body, and how can we reduce it?

Questions people ask

Why is blood lead usually preferred over urine lead?

Blood lead is the standard test used for routine lead exposure checks and for health department follow-up. Urine lead depends on how dilute the sample is and on kidney function, so it is used in selected situations.

What is a provoked or chelation-challenge urine test?

It is a urine collection after a drug that pulls metals out of the body. The American College of Medical Toxicology recommends against it, because the results can be misleading and the usual ranges are not meant for it.

How do I convert µg/L to µmol/L?

Multiply µg/L by 0.004826, so 5.0 µg/L is about 0.024 µmol/L. To go the other way, multiply µmol/L by 207.2.

Show the science and sources

Units

  • 1 µg/L = 1 µg/L
  • 1 µg/L = 0.004826 µmol/L
  • 1 µg/L = 4.826 nmol/L

Open the Urine Lead unit converter

For clinicians and researchers

ARUP measures urine lead by ICP-MS in a 24-hour or random collection and reports it per 24 hours, per volume and per gram of creatinine, with intervals of 8.1 µg/d or lower, 5.0 µg/L or lower and 5.0 µg/g creatinine or lower. Urine lead mainly reflects recent excretion and is less standardized than blood lead for judging exposure, because it depends on urine concentration, kidney function and sample contamination. The American College of Medical Toxicology recommends against chelator-provoked (post-challenge) urine metal testing, since no valid reference range exists for it. ARUP's test requires trace-element-free transport tubes and rejects urine collected within 72 hours of iodinated or gadolinium-based contrast. Spot concentrations vary with hydration, so ratios to urine creatinine may help interpretation.

LOINC 5676-2 (primary), 30931-0, 14808-0. Specimen: urine.

Sources

  1. Lead, Urine (test 0025060), ARUP Laboratories
  2. NHANES 2017-2018 Laboratory Data: Metals - Urine (UM_J), CDC National Center for Health Statistics (2020)
  3. ACMT Recommends Against Use of Post-Chelator Challenge Urinary Metal Testing, American College of Medical Toxicology (Journal of Medical Toxicology) (2017)
  4. Lead (element, PubChem), PubChem (National Library of Medicine)

AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. How we build and check these pages.

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