Normal Lead Levels in Children

If you live in a home built before 1978, it may contain lead paint. Many adults are unaware of the dangers that lead hazards will have on young children. While children are growing and developing, they are at greater risk to becoming lead-poisoned, which can cause permanent damage. That's why health officials agree that children should receive at least one lead test before entering school.

History

• Before we knew how harmful it could be, lead was used in many products, including paint. Lead, which was banned for use in housing in 1978, is a toxic metal that does not break down naturally and can remain a problem until it’s removed.
  
  Lead poisoning can cause permanent damage or even death. Often, there are no symptoms of lead poisoning until permanent damage is done.

Facts

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 250,000 American children between the ages of 1 and 5 have blood-lead levels that exceed the level of 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, the level at which the CDC recommends public health action. Normal human levels of lead in the blood are 1.9 ?g/dL for children 1-5 years of age, according to the CDC.

Expert Insight

• Lead testing is available through a physician's office or most local health departments. Testing is easy and is done by having a blood test–a simple finger poke.

  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), \"There are no visible symptoms of lead poisoning, and children may suffer behavior or learning problems as a result of exposure to lead hazards.\"

  Lead poisoning, which can affect any child, regardless of race, economic status or location of home, can have long-term effects on children. It can cause learning disabilities, decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing and even brain damage. If caught early, these effects can be limited by reducing exposure to lead or by medical treatment.

  Because lead poisoning often occurs with no obvious symptoms, it frequently goes unrecognized.

Significance

• One important thing for parents to know is that lead poisoning is 100 percent preventable.

  According to the CDC, \"The goal is to prevent lead exposure to children before children are harmed. There are many ways parents can reduce a child’s exposure to lead. The key is to avoid contact with lead. Lead hazards in a child’s environment must be identified and controlled or removed safely.\"

  The most common sources of lead poisoning are:
  · Deteriorating lead-based paint
  · Lead contaminated dust
  · Lead contaminated residential soil

Misconceptions

• Most people think children are lead-poisoned only by sucking on paint chips.
  But there are many other ways. For example, remodeling projects can also stir up lead dust that was otherwise unreachable to a child. Knocking down walls or replacing windows are examples of how remodeling projects can stir up lead paint in your living space.

  Lead paint can be disturbed in other ways:
  • Opening a window that was once painted with lead-based paint. The friction from opening the window causes lead dust to settle on furniture, carpet, toys, clothing and other items in your home. Children breathe this into their lungs.
  • Every time your child touches dust and puts it into her hands or she touches toys and then her mouth, she is ingesting lead.
  • Inhaling lead dust is just as harmful as eating lead paint chips. Both types of
  exposure can cause permanent damage to children.