Blood lead levels in young children in the United States declined in the last decade, but state data reveal that children of color and children from low-wealth families are still exposed to higher levels of lead, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health. No level of lead in children's blood is safe.
The study was conducted by lead experts affiliated with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Project TENDR, an alliance of scientists, health professionals and environmental health advocates working to protect children from toxic chemicals that harm brain development and contribute to problems with learning, attention and behavior.
"Lowering blood lead levels in children nationwide is one of public health's great success stories, but the national data don't tell the whole story," said corresponding author Mary Jean Brown, adjunct assistant professor at Harvard Chan School and former chief of lead poisoning prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "At the local level, too many children still face higher exposures."
Racial and economic disparities remain in childhood lead poisoning
Scientists analyzed blood lead level trends among U.S. children younger than 5 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) as well as data from seven states that make blood lead data available by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
