At a glance
- Accredited to analyse
- lead: paint chips, dust wipes (what that means)
- Price
- not on the official list: ask the lab for a quote
- Turnaround
- not published: ask when you send samples
- Accreditation runs to
- March 1, 2027
Lab facts
- Address
- Chicago, IL · Open in Google Maps
- Phone
- (312) 733-0551 (as printed on EPA’s NLLAP list)
- Tests listed for
- Lead
- Left blank on the list
- The official list gives no street address, website for this site.
Copied from the official lists below. Business details only.
What this lab can test for you
- Lead paint testing: accredited to analyse paint chips scraped from walls, trim or windows; dust wipes from floors and window sills, the test used after renovation.
- Not accredited for soil: the nearest accredited lab site that is, Illinois Department of Public Health State of Illinois, IDPH lab division in Chicago, IL, is 0 miles away.
From the accreditation scope on the official list; distances are straight lines between ZIP-code centres. Ask the lab which sample types it accepts by mail before you cut or wipe anything.
Accreditation record
- EPA NLLAP lead: recognized for paint chips, dust wipes, accredited by AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs; commercially available (list October, 2026 Round 132, Month 3 of 3).
Accreditation as listed by EPA NLLAP on October 14, 2026; confirm with the lab.
EPA NLLAP: lead
Accreditation as listed by EPA NLLAP on October 14, 2026; confirm with the lab.
- Name on the list
- Sterling Labs
- City on the list
- Chicago
- Recognized for
- paint chips, dust wipes
- Commercially available
- Yes
- Lab type
- Fixed Site
- Accrediting organization
- AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs
- List version
- October, 2026 Round 132, Month 3 of 3
Open EPA’s NLLAP list. The list prints no accreditation number or expiry date. Confirm the test you need with the lab before you send samples.
Other accreditations on record
- AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs, lab ID LAP-101160: industrial hygiene, including asbestos air samples (IHLAP); lead in paint, dust and soil (ELLAP); mold (EMLAP), valid to March 1, 2027 (106 days left). Scope as printed: “INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE; ENVIRONMENTAL LEAD; ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY” (certificate or directory entry).
From the accrediting body’s public directory, read November 15, 2026 and re-checked by a second reader. EPA’s lead list relies on these bodies but prints no ID or expiry date.
Nearest other accredited labs
Lead paint testing
2 other accredited lead lab sites within 25 miles. Straight-line distance between ZIP-code centres (the list gives this site a city but no ZIP code, so its point is the city’s most common ZIP).
| Lab site | Town | Distance | Prints a homeowner price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Department of Public Health State of Illinois, IDPH lab division | Chicago, IL | 0 mi | – |
| EMSL Analytical Inc. | Hillside, IL | 11 mi | Yes |
| City of Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory | Milwaukee, WI | 81 mi | – |
| Wisconsin Occupational Health Laboratory Wisconsin State Lab | Madison, WI | 120 mi | – |
Homes around this lab
Cook County: 73% of 2,276,493 housing units were built before 1980, above the Illinois share of 63% (Census ACS 2020–2024, table B25034). EPA links lead-based paint to homes built before 1978, and asbestos was common in building materials of that era. The ACS groups years by decade, so 1980 is the nearest cut.
Older homes within 25 miles
About 1,863,463 homes built before 1980 are in the 2 counties whose centre lies within 25 miles of this lab (Cook County, DuPage County).
- Lead paint testing: 3 accredited lab sites within 25 miles, about 621,154 older homes per site, fewer than the Illinois figure of 1,154,719 older homes per listed site (3 sites).
Census ACS 2020–2024, table B25034; county centres are the mean of their ZIP-code points.
Water and housing around this lab
- Radon: Cook County is EPA Zone 2, moderate radon potential (2 to 4 pCi/L). Renovation that opens floors or basements is a common time to test.
- Private wells: about 5,239 people, 0% of residents, drink from a private well (USGS 2015), the 102nd highest share of 102 counties in Illinois.
- Well-water testing: the nearest state-certified drinking-water lab that its state list marks as taking homeowner samples is Kalamazoo County HSD Laboratory, 111 miles away.
- Public drinking water: 118 public water systems serving Cook County reported EPA UCMR 5 PFAS tests (2023–2026); 2 had a PFOA or PFOS result at or above 4.0 ng/L, the level EPA set for each in 2024; the highest result was at Dixmoor (PFOA 4.8 ng/L, PFOS 5.5 ng/L). These are water suppliers’ results, not private wells.
- Arsenic in private wells (USGS model): about 70 private-well users in Cook County may drink water above 10 µg/L of arsenic (2010 base; a screening estimate, not a measurement).
County figures for Cook County, IL, where this lab’s ZIP code lies: EPA radon zone map, USGS 2015 water-use and arsenic estimates, EPA UCMR 5 (public water systems), state drinking-water lab lists and our septic rule register.
Is this your lab?
Names, addresses and phone numbers come from the official lists, and the accrediting program can correct them. To tell us about a mistake, contact us.