Recent studies
suggest that adverse health effects exist in children at blood lead
levels less than10 µg/dL. In the past the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) has lowered the level considered
elevated in response to similar reports. However, at this time the
reasons not to lower the level of concern are as follows:
These studies
support making primary prevention of childhood lead poisoning a high
priority for health, housing, and environmental agencies at the
state, local, and federal levels.
What is CDC’s approach?
CDC recommends designing,
implementing, and evaluating primary prevention strategies that
prevent childhood exposure to lead. The essential elements of
primary prevention for childhood lead poisoning are as follows:
- The first is to focus on lead paint in housing as the most
important source of lead for young children.
The system to identify high-risk housing and to make these units
lead safe is in place. After 10 years of widespread blood lead
testing and data collection by CDC-supported state and local
partners, the specific addresses of housing units where children
have been repeatedly poisoned are known to local officials.
Systematic reduction of lead sources, particularly in old, poorly
maintained housing combined with periodic maintenance monitoring
will prevent children from being exposed to lead in these units in
the future. Good evidence exits that those communities with the
largest percent of children with very high blood lead levels, are
also the communities that have the largest percent of children
whose blood lead levels are lower but still well above the
national average. This evidence also indicates the importance of
primary prevention and the need to target those communities where
the risk for exposure to lead is highest. Primary prevention in
these communities would be expected to benefit all children who
live in the highest risk communities.
- The second is
to restrict or eliminate nonessential uses of lead particularly in
toys, eating and drinking utensils, cosmetics and traditional
medicines whether manufactured in the United States or imported.
In some areas of the United States as many as 35% of children
identified with elevated lead levels are reported to have been
exposed to items decorated with or made of lead. In most cases,
the hazardous product is only identified after a child is lead
poisoned. CDC, the Environmental Protection Agency and other
federal agencies are working to better identify hazardous products
before they are in use.