Lead poisoning is one of the most prevalent and preventable environmental health hazards and is known to contribute to learning disabilities, developmental delays, and behavioral problems.
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SPRINGFIELD – Lead poisoning is one of the most prevalent and preventable environmental health hazards and is known to contribute to learning disabilities, developmental delays, and behavioral problems. During National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, Oct. 20 through Oct. 26, the Illinois Department of Public Health wants to raise awareness about the danger of lead exposure and educate parents on how to reduce exposure to lead in their environment, prevent its serious health effects, and understand the importance of testing children.
“There is no safe level of lead in the body. Children exposed to lead tend to suffer from life-long complications that affect their ability to think, learn, or behave,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “During National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, I encourage people to learn how to identify lead hazards in their homes and ways to reduce or eliminate them.”
The level of Illinois childhood lead poisoning remains one of the highest in the nation. In 2018, more than 12,000 children tested had blood lead levels greater than 5 µg/dL, the intervention level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and required by the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act.
Illinois law requires that all children six years of age or younger be assessed for lead risk. Physicians must perform a blood lead test for children who live in high-risk areas or meet other risk criteria determined through a childhood risk questionnaire administered by a health care provider.
The most common source of exposure is from deteriorated lead-based paint, which was used in many homes built before 1978. Children can be exposed by swallowing or breathing in lead dust created by old paint that has peeled, cracked, or chipped, eating paint chips, or chewing on surfaces coated with lead-based paint, such as window sills. If you live in a house built before 1978, a certified inspector or risk assessor can be hired to check your home for lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards.
Lead can also be found in drinking water. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures.