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Q&A: What is lead poisoning? Thousands of children at risk nationwide

Alison Young
USA TODAY
Contaminated water in Flint, Mich., has lead poisoning in the news.

Dangerous levels of lead in the drinking water supply of Flint, Mich., are prompting outrage and calls for action. Meanwhile, lead poisoning is a significant public health threat to children nationwide.

Children are typically exposed to the toxic metal by living in older homes with flaking lead-based paint, by playing in lead-contaminated dirt in their yards and through other sources. Young children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 500,000 children ages 1-5 have elevated levels of lead in their bodies.

Q: What is lead poisoning?

A: Lead – a toxic metal once widely used in paint, gasoline and other products – is a powerful neurotoxin that can cause irreparable harm to a child’s developing brain. At even low levels of exposure, lead can cause decreased IQ and academic achievement, increased incidences of ADHD and problem behaviors, delayed puberty and decreased hearing.

Q: How do I know if my child suffers from lead poisoning?

A: Children who have been exposed to lead may not show obvious symptoms and the danger they face often goes unrecognized, experts say. A blood test is used to measure a child’s exposure level. Blood tests are available from pediatricians and often from local health departments. The cost of the tests are covered by Medicaid and most insurance, according to the CDC.

How water crisis in Flint, Mich., became federal state of emergency

Q: How much lead is OK to be in a child’s blood?

A: While a lead level of 5 or more micrograms per deciliter of blood is considered a level of potential concern, scientists have not identified any safe level of lead in a child's body, according to the CDC.

Q: What can be done if tests show my child has an elevated blood lead level?

A:  If the blood test indicates a very high level of lead in the child’s body, 45 micrograms per deciliter or higher, the CDC recommends that children potentially undergo chelation therapy with medications that cause lead to be excreted through urine. At lower levels of exposure, efforts should be made to determine where the child is coming into contact with lead so actions can be taken to eliminate the exposure.

Regularly mopping floors and keeping children’s hands and toys clean can help reduce the amount of lead-dust particles they ingest. Improving children's nutrition, especially having enough calcium and iron, also can help reduce the amount of lead their bodies absorb.

Q: What are some of the likely sources of a child’s lead exposure?

A: Lead-based paint was commonly used in homes built before 1978. Over time, it deteriorates into a fine dust that children can ingest when they put their hands and toys in their mouths. Home renovations and sanding of painted surfaces can pose significant risks.

Soil in outdoor play areas can also be contaminated with dust from lead-based paint, the fallout from factory emissions and the exhaust of cars that once burned leaded gasoline. Undisturbed, lead dust will remain in the top few inches of soil for hundreds of years.

USA TODAY’s “Ghost Factories” investigation in 2012 revealed that thousands of families nationwide are at risk from exposure to contaminated soil around long-closed lead factory sites.

Drinking water can also become contaminated because lead is still found in the water pipes of some homes and in lines that connect homes to the water line in the street. Corrosion can cause lead to leach into the water when it sits in these kinds of pipes. House dust, soil and water can all be tested for lead.

Q: Are adults at risk from lead poisoning?

A: While children face the greatest risk, lead exposure in adults can also cause health problems. According to the CDC, lead exposure can cause miscarriages and stillbirths. And prolonged exposure to lead may also put adults at risk for infertility, high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease.

Long-term lead exposure can also cause non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain, constipation, and feeling distracted, forgetful, irritable or depressed, the CDC says. Adults may have jobs that put them at greater risk of lead exposure. Those jobs include auto repair, construction and renovation, battery manufacturing, firing range instructors and gunsmiths. Artists can be at risk because some materials they work with may contain lead.

In 2012, the CDC received reports of more than 27,000 adults who had blood-lead levels of 10 or higher, according to data published in October by the agency’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Source: CDC and USA TODAY research.

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