Childhood Lead Poisoning

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Childhood Lead Poisoning Data 

What is Lead Poisoning?

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Lead poisoning is caused by swallowing or breathing lead. Once it gets into your body, it's poison. Lead can stay in your body for a long time. Young children absorb lead more easily than adults. The harm done by lead may never go away. Even low levels of lead can harm the health of a child. There is no safe level of lead exposure.

Lead in the body can:

^{Hurt the brain, kidneys, and nervous system}

Slow down growth and development

Make it hard to learn

Damage hearing and speech

Cause behavior problems

MA children are most often harmed by lead from lead-based paint, but lead can also occur in drinking water and soil.

Lead in Drinking Water Fact Sheet

Lead in Soil Fact Sheet

Most of the lead poisoning in Massachusetts comes from lead paint dust in older homes. Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint on the inside and outside of the building. When old paint peels and cracks, it creates lead paint chips and lead dust. Lead dust also comes from opening and closing old windows. Home repairs and renovations also create lead dust. Lead dust lands on the floor. Lead gets into children’s bodies when they put their hands and toys in their mouths. Children can also breathe in lead dust. Children between the ages of 9 months and 6 years are most at risk.

Why Do We Track Lead Poisoning?

Before the use of lead was restricted, approximately 88% of preschool children in the U.S. had levels of lead in their blood high enough to cause serious health effects. With less lead in our environment, the prevalence of lead poisoning has decreased.

In October 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lowered the blood lead reference value (BLRV) from 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to 3.5 µg/dL. The BLRV identifies children with blood lead levels that are higher than most children’s levels, based on the

97.5th percentile of blood lead values among U.S. children ages 1-5 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This is the reference value at which the CDC recommends public health actions be initiated.

Most children who have lead poisoning do not look or act sick. A lead test is the only way to know if your child has lead poisoning. The Massachusetts Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Act is a state law that requires all children to be screened each year for lead poisoning through age three. Children living in high-risk communities must be screened each year through age four. All children must show proof of screening at least once to enter daycare, pre-kindergarten programs, and kindergarten.

By tracking children with lead poisoning, we can:

• Identify children at risk in order to target prevention and outreach activities Make case management services available to each child with lead poisoning Monitor progress towards eliminating childhood lead poisoning
• Evaluate and monitor trends to identify high-risk populations Remove and reduce sources of lead
• Develop and evaluate interventions and programs

The CLPPP has developed an educational tool for pediatric clinicians focusing on childhood lead exposure and screening by community.

Lead Screening Progress Report 

Each year, the Department of Public Health identifies communities with a higher risk of childhood lead poisoning to better target resources and reduce health inequities associated with lead exposure in those communities.

List of high-risk communities 

How To Prevent Lead Poisoning?

Childhood lead poisoning is preventable. The key to preventing lead poisoning is to stop children from coming into contact with lead and managing the care of those who have been poisoned by lead. In order to do that:

• Homes must be inspected for lead hazards
• Lead in a child's environment must be removed or properly contained
• All public and health care professionals have to be educated about lead poisoning and how to prevent it
• Children who are at risk of lead poisoning need to be tested and, if necessary, treated
• Home renovation and repairs must be done following lead safe work practices

Lead from sources other than housing may also present a hazard to children. Other sources of lead poisoning include:

• Ceramic dishes
• Brass containers
• Foreign/antique tea kettles (like samovars)
• Stained glass
• Large batteries
• Bullets
• Fishing sinkers
• Folk medicines/cosmetics (like kohl) from other countries
• Imported spices and herbal remedies
• Children’s toys and jewelry
• Drinking water
• Soil

If you have any questions about lead poisoning, how to test your child for lead, how to interpret your child’s blood lead test result, or the state Lead Law, please visit the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) website here. The CLPPP provides a range of prevention and information services to Massachusetts families.

Available Data on Childhood Blood Lead Levels

Use the Explore Maps & Tables link on this page to access the following measures for childhood blood lead levels in your community. The most current available data will be shown. Be sure to check the site periodically as new data are added each year.

To protect privacy, no information is shown that could identify an individual.

• Number and percent screened by location and single or range of years
• Number and prevalence of blood lead levels by location and single or range of years
• Maps and charts of screening rates and blood lead levels
• All of the above measures are available by census tract, community, county, EOHHS Region, EP Regional Coalitions, the most recent high-risk community list, and statewide