For two years earlier in this decade the house had to be rented out because no one in our family wanted to live there, then, and we did not want to leave it empty. We found some very nice tenants but learned, too late, that they had a 2-year old daughter. They asked for a lead test, and immediately the crazy and draconian Massachusetts lead paint laws came into play.
The tester took some 1,200 measurements and produced a voluminous report (available). There was zero lead anywhere inside the house. There was no lead on the exterior clapboards either, of course, because those have not yet needed paint; they still have the factory finish that is guaranteed for five more years.
There were, however, slight traces of lead outside around the perimeter of the 4-bay picture window in front, and also on the outside of the three garage windows, and on the garage doors. You might expect that we could simply remove and replace those windows and doors, but no, that would be illegal in Massachusetts. We did, in fact, replace the garage windows, but we had to de-lead them first.
The total amount of lead that was found all around the outside of the house, which can be computed from the inspector's report, was 80 milligrams. It cost $35,000 to remove that 80 milligrams of lead. This works out to about six million dollars an ounce, making it perhaps the most expensive substance on the planet. Today the house is certified lead free and it is entered into the state database of lead free houses, one of very few in South Natick. It's the price you pay for mid-century craftsmanship in the era of tear-downs.