General Information
What is lead poisoning?
What are sources of lead exposure?
What are the symptoms of lead poisoning?
What are the adverse health effects of lead poisoning?
How to reduce or prevent lead poisoning?
Blood lead screening and testing
Lead Exposure Risk Assessment Questionnaire (LERAQ)
Lead poisoning or lead toxicity is a condition that is caused by exposure to lead which results in elevated blood lead levels and the accompanying long term damage. Lead is a metal that occurs naturally in the environment and exists all around us. Lead is found in air, soil, water, and even in our homes. Although it has many beneficial industrial uses, it is harmful to humans when ingested or inhaled. There is no safe level of lead in the body. It is particularly harmful to the developing brains and nervous systems of fetuses and young children. This is especially true during the critical development periods of early childhood. Young children are most vulnerable to the effects of lead because they absorb a greater percentage of lead and it can cause the most harm while they are quickly growing and developing.
Lead is highly toxic and is found in many products in and around the home. You cannot see, taste, or smell lead, so it may be in your home environment without your knowledge. It is generally found in paint, dust, or soil in or around older housing, particularly housing built before 1950. The federal government banned the use of lead-based paint in 1978, therefore it could be found in any home built before 1978. Even though lead-based paint is the most common lead exposure source, there are other sources of lead exposure which could result in lead poisoning.
Blood lead levels are measured as micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood (µg/dL). Although there is no scientific evidence on a safe level of lead in the blood, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses an action level of 5 µg/dL. The action level, sometimes seen on laboratory reports as a 'reference level', refers to a blood lead level at which recommended specific interventions should be implemented to reduce the blood lead levels in the body. Once lead enters the blood stream it can also be stored in organs, tissues, bones, and teeth. Most childhood lead programs focus outreach and education on children in the higher risk range of 6 to 72 months of age. However, a level of 5 µg/dL or higher would be considered elevated for any age group.
Although lead is no longer added to household paint or gasoline and cannot exceed set standards in many consumer products, many sources of lead still exist and thus pose a health hazard.
Lead-Based Paint and Lead Contaminated Soil and Dust
The most common risk factor for childhood lead poisoning is still the deteriorating residential lead-based paint which is found in almost all housing units built prior to 1950. Houses built between 1950 and 1978 are less likely to contain high amounts of lead in the paint, but are still a potential source. Lead-based paint was banned from use in household paint in 1978, which means that houses built before 1978 potentially contain lead-based paint. Another common source of lead is lead contaminated dust and soil. Children are most often poisoned when lead-contaminated dust caused by deteriorating paint gets on their hands or toys and is then transferred to their mouths. Sometimes children may eat paint chips or inhale leaded dust.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deteriorated lead-based paint and elevated levels of lead contaminated house dust can be found in an estimated 24 million U.S. housing units. More than 4 million of these units are homes to one or more young children.
Lead in Water
Houses containing lead pipes or pipes soldered or welded together with metals containing lead, may have high lead levels in drinking water. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) homes built before 1986 are more likely to contain lead pipes, fixtures, and solder. Lead may enter tap water through corrosion of plumbing. Corrosion is a reaction between the water and the lead pipes or solder. Dissolved oxygen, low pH (acidity) and low mineral content in water are common causes of corrosion.
Take-Home Sources and Hobbies
It is important to note that children can be exposed to lead hazards through “take home” sources. In other words, lead particles brought home on the clothes, shoes, or hands of an adult who works in an occupation that exposes him/her to lead. At work, people are usually exposed by breathing in air that contains lead particles. Families of workers may be exposed to higher levels of lead when workers bring home lead dust on their work clothes and shoes.
Work that involves industrial paint (which may still contain lead) such as painting or scraping bridges or water towers, cable splicing, construction, mining, radiator repair, recovery of gold and silver, repair and reclamation of lead batteries, smelting, welding, working on firing ranges and oil fields, and manufacturing bullets, ceramic tiles, electrical components, and lead batteries, are some of the occupations where workers may be exposed to lead.
Children may also come in contact with lead and become lead poisoned through household member's hobbies and leisure activities such as making stained glass with lead, pottery with lead glaze, making or reloading bullets and fishing sinkers with lead, and refinishing furniture and painting with lead-based varnishes.
Lead in Toys
Children may be exposed to lead from toys that have been made in other countries and imported into the United States or from antique toys and collectibles passed down through generations. Lead may also be found in older toys made in the United States. The U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for announcing recalls of toys which contain excessive levels of lead and could result in adverse health effects.
Recalled toys that show signs of wear (chipped or peeling paint) or have cracked or broken parts are of special concern. Children are at the greatest risk from lead exposure and children under 36 months of age are particularly susceptible because of this age group's normal hand-to-mouth behaviors.
A complete list of all the recalled products can be found at the CPSC website. To subscribe to the CPSC's email distribution list to receive bulletins about recalled products, consumers can go HERE.
Please also refer to National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) fact sheets: Toys and Childhood Lead Exposure and Testing for Lead in Consumer Items for Children for additional information on toys and lead hazards.
Home Health Remedies, Imported Cosmetics, and Pottery
Certain traditional home health remedies contain lead. Greta and Azarcón are used by Hispanic communities to treat upset stomach or indigestion. Pay-loo-ah is used within the Hmong community and given to children as a cure for rash or fever. Certain Asian remedies are also found to contain lead such as Bali Goli, Ghasard, and Kandu.
Kohl (also known as Kajal or Surma) is used by Middle Eastern and South Asian communities. It is a traditional cosmetic used as an eyeliner, however, it contains high levels of lead. Sindoor powder which if often used a symbol of matrimony in Hinduism may also contain high amounts of lead.
Lead may also leach into food if it is put into improperly glazed pottery or ceramic ware usually made outside the United States (especially bean pots from Mexico or tagines from Morocco). Some vintage or antique plates and dinnerware may also contain lead in the glaze or painted surfaces, so country of origin is not always an indicator of potential lead in a product.
Leaded Mini Blinds
In 1996, the CPSC issued a warning that some imported vinyl (plastic) mini blinds manufactured in China, Taiwan, Mexico, and Indonesia may present a lead poisoning hazard for young children. Lead is used as a fixative in the vinyl. As the vinyl deteriorates when exposed to sunlight and heat, it forms lead dust on the surface of the blinds that children can get on their hands and then in their mouths. New mini blinds should always be in a box labeled "Lead Free." Some homes may still have leaded mini blinds installed prior to 1996.
There are likely no noticeable symptoms of lead poisoning in children or adults, unless the lead level is extremely high. This is why obtaining a simple blood lead test is the only true way to know if your child has lead in their system. If there are symptoms, they are likely to be as follows:
Children
Adults
What are some of the adverse health effects of lead poisoning?
How to prevent or reduce lead poisoning?
The most important way families can prevent or reduce lead poisoning is to know about the sources of lead inside as well as outside their homes and avoid exposure to these sources.
Lead Exposure Risk Assessment Questionnaire (LERAQ) - English
Lead Exposure Risk Assessment Questionnaire (LERAQ) - Spanish