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Lead poisoning is the most well studied environmental disease in the United
States. The cause and effect of lead poisoning on poor minority communities is
known. Studies in Northeastern cities dating back to the 1930s, and national
studies since the 1970s, consistently showed that lead poisoning killed more
children and produced more harm in poor minority communities than other
communities.
The removal of lead from gasoline, paint, solder for welding pipes, and water
supplies has produced a very sharp decrease in lead poisoning in all
communities. However, that benefit has not been evenly distributed. Questions
remain about whether environmental health professionals have taken the best
approach to preventing lead poisoning and, as they have been since the 1970's,
poor minority communities nationwide remain at greatest risk for lead
poisoning. The most recent national data collected in 1994 indicates
890,000 children 1 to 5 years of age have elevated blood lead levels. 688,000
of those children are targeted in federal health care programs or enrolled in
Medicaid or WIC, yet the majority are never screened for lead.
427,000 African-American children (11.2% nationwide), 296,000 White children
(2.3% nationwide), and 131,000 Latino (4.8% nationwide) had elevated blood lead
levels. However, while blood lead levels in African-American and White children
vary based on family income, location and culture minimize such differences among Latino
children. The blood lead levels of African-American children were 80%
greater than white children. Decreasing blood lead levels of
African-American children and Latino children to the levels of white children
will result in more than $50 billion dollars of increased lifetime earnings.
Lead risks to children can be mapped
at the community level. Children under 6 years are at increased risk for
lead-based paint hazards in houses built before 1950. CDC has compiled US
Census data on housing age and population demographics at the ZIP code and
census tract levels. Performing a "data query" will enable anyone to identify
the risk of childhood lead poisoning in the community. State data on lead risks
to workers
is also available.
Occupational lead exposure also remains a problem. The Occupational Safety and
Health Administrationand the
National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health provide information on worker
exposure to lead. While most workers are not tested, of 20,000 that were
recently
tested, about 20% had high blood lead levels.
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