Lead Poisoning Still a Threat as New Rules Take Effect

(April 21) -- While federal officials had hoped to eradicate childhood lead poisoning by 2010, health experts now say it could be years before American kids are completely risk-free.

Lead continues to pose a threat in poorer urban areas, where older homes are coated in lead-based paint that's now deteriorating, exposing residents to dust tainted with the toxin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which had set the 2010 goal, wants to see tougher laws and more effective enforcement to minimize the presence of lead in American homes, schools, day care centers and other buildings occupied by kids.

"We have to get serious about doing these things," Dr. Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC's lead poisoning prevention branch, told The New York Times.

Local lead hazard laws, which require landlords to inspect properties for lead-based paint before tenants move in, are often poorly enforced -- if they've been instituted at all.

But nationwide, a new lead-safety regulation first passed by Congress in 1992 will finally take effect Thursday. The Environmental Protection Agency announced in early April its plans to roll out the policy, after a lawsuit by advocacy groups spurred it to take action.

The regulation will apply to homes, schools and day care centers built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned. Construction workers doing renovations or repair work will need to be trained in lead-safe practices and be certified that they comply with EPA standards. Workers who aren't certified can be fined up to $37,500 a day.

"Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children," the EPA explained in announcing the new policy.

Despite the concerns being voiced by CDC experts, however, the agency has seen a major decline in the number of children with dangerously high blood levels of lead, largely thanks to bans on lead-based paints and gasoline in the 1970s and 1990s, respectively.

In 2006, the CDC estimated that 120,000 children ages 1 to 5 had elevated levels of lead in their blood, compared with 890,000 in 1994. Anything higher than 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood is considered too high.

Elevated lead levels can be difficult to detect, because symptoms are often subtle and take months or years to appear. Children might seem fatigued or irritable, and can suffer from long-term learning disabilities and cognitive delays.

Experts say the best way to prevent lead poisoning is to avoid exposure, and treating elevated lead levels starts with eliminating the source of the problem.