What year was your house built? If you don’t know, you should find out.

 If your house was built prior to 1979, it’s vital that you have it tested for lead. Before 1979, lead-based paints were used in residential and commercial buildings. This is a major health hazard for infants and young children.

 Here are the facts about lead and lead poisoning:

•     A blood lead level of 10 µg/dL or greater is considered elevated. However, there is no safe level of lead in blood of children. [1]

•     Today, elevated blood lead levels in children are due mostly to ingestion of contaminated dust, paint and soil. [2]

•     About 250,000 American children ages 1-5 years old had an elevated blood lead level of 10ug/dl in 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 respectively. The number of children affected by lead poisoning has decreased significantly from 4.7 million in 1978. [3]

•     The decline in blood lead levels is due to the phasing out of lead in gasoline between 1973 and 1995 [4] and the reduction in the number of homes with lead-based paint from 64 million in 1990 to 38 million in 2000. [5] About 24 million homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards. [6]

•     Childhood lead poisoning reduces IQ, which can never be regained. Recent studies suggest that children with blood lead levels well below the federal standard (10 ug/dl), can suffer from diminished IQ and affects on behavior. [7] Other studies suggest that children exposed to lead may be at risk of developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). [8]

•     Recently, it has been reported that children have been exposed to lead through toys and other products imported from China.

•     In 2007, The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 61 toys (totaling more than 25 million product units) because they contained dangerous levels of lead. [9]

Disparities in Lead Exposure

•     Blood lead levels are higher for children ages 1-5 from lower-income families and for certain racial and ethnic groups. [10]

•     6.4% of children ages 1-5 in the United States have a blood lead level above 5 micrograms per deciliter [11]

•     Immigrant children may be at increased risk of lead poisoning. [12]

•     Foreign born children were five times more likely to have elevated blood lead levels than US born children. [13]

Economic Impact of Lead Exposure

•     The cost of reduced cognitive ability is measured by IQ scores and valued in terms of forgone earnings and is estimated to be about $9,600 per IQ point lost. [14]

The cost of not eliminating lead exposure to children between 2000-2010 is expected to be about $22 billion in forgone earnings. [15]

[1]    CDC, Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals: Spotlight on Lead, July 2005. See http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/factsheet_lead.pdf

[2]    CDC, Screening Young Children for Lead Poisoning Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials, 1997.  See http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/guide/guide97.htm.

[3]    EPA, America’s Children and the Environment. Blood Lead Concentration Data

[4]    EPA, National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1998 (2000), p. 78.  See http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd98/toc.html

[5]    D. Jacobs, R. Clickner, J. Zhou, S. Viet, D. Marker, J. Rogers, D. Zeldin, P. Broene, and W. Friedman, 2002.  The Prevalence of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in U.S. Housing, Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (10): 599-606.

[6]    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  http://www.hud.gov

[7]    IBID

[8]    Braun, J et. al. (2006).  Exposures to Environmental Toxicants and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. children.  Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(12):1904-1909

[9]    The United Consumer Product Safety Commission.  CPSC Delivers the ABC’s of Toy Safety, Nov. 20, 2007.   http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08086.html

[10]    EPA, America’s Children and the Environment.  Blood Lead Concentration Data., pg. 54.

[11]    Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.   America’s Children: Key Indicators of Well-Being, 2007.  Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 

[12]    Tehranifar, P, Leighton, J et al. (2008). Immigration and risk of childhood Lead poisoning: findings from a case-control study of New York City children.  American Journal of Public Health, 98 (1). 

[13]    IBID

[14]    President’s Task  Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning: A Federal Strategy Targeting Lead Paint Hazards, February 2000, pA-26.  See http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/leadhaz.htm/$file/leadhaz.pdf.

[15]    IBID, p. A-28