Measure B1: Lead in the Blood of Children

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• The median concentration of lead in the blood of children 5 years old and under dropped from 15 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) in 1976-1980 to 1.6 µg/dL in 2003-2004, a decline of 89 percent.
• The concentration of lead in blood at the 90th percentile in children 5 years old and under dropped from 25 µg/dL in 1976-1980 to 3.9 µg/dL in 2003-2004.
• In 1978, about 13.5 million children ages 1-5 had blood lead levels at or greater than 10 µg/dL, which is considered elevated. By 2003-2004, this number had declined to about 250,000. 
• The decline in blood lead levels is due largely to the phasing out of lead in gasoline between 1973 and 1995¹ and to the reduction in the number of homes with lead-based paint from 64 million in 1990 to 38 million in 2000.² Some decline also was a result of EPA regulations reducing lead levels in drinking water, as well as legislation banning lead from paint and restricting the content of lead in solder, faucets, pipes, and plumbing. Lead also has been eliminated or reduced in food and beverage containers and ceramic ware, and in products such as toys, mini-blinds, and playground equipment.

Related Measures:

• Criteria Air Pollutants (lead)
• Drinking Water (lead)
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Lead in California Schools

Healthy People 2010:

Objective 8-11 of Healthy People 2010 aims to totally eliminate elevated blood lead levels in children.

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1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1998. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. 454/R-00-003. http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd98/toc.html.
2. D. E. Jacobs, R. P. Clickner, J. Y. Zhou, S. M. Viet, D. A. Marker, J. W. Rogers, D. C. Zeldin, P. Broene and W. Friedman. 2002. The prevalence of lead-based paint hazards in U.S. housing. Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (10):A599-606.