Blood Lead
Stacey Sandstrom M.S.
Health Section Chief
Kansas Health & Environmental Laboratories
Forbes Field, Building 740
Topeka, KS 66620-0001
Telephone Number: (785)296-2244
E-mail: ssandstrom@kdheks.gov
Fax Number: (785)296-1641
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Background Lead is one of the top environmental diseases affecting children in the US. Lead is known to cause learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, and kidney damage. In 1978 the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned lead based paint from homes and lead was phased out of gasoline from 1973-1986. Even with these improvements there are over 400,000 children (under the age of six) with dangerous lead levels. (CDC. Surveillance for Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children - United States, 1997--2001. MMWR. September 12, 2003; 52(SS-10):1-21.) The most common exposure for children today is lead paint from older homes. |
Facts about Childhood Lead Poisoning in Kansas*
|
Kansas |
U.S. Totals |
No. of pre-1950 Housing |
320,648 |
25,815,821 |
% of pre-1950 Housing |
28.3 |
22.3 |
No. of renter occupied pre-1950 Housing |
78,212 |
8,717,104 |
% of renter occupied pre-1950 Housing |
24.4 |
33.8 |
No. of children <72 months |
227,151 |
23,485,435 |
No. of children <72 months below poverty level |
32,253 |
4,101,689 |
No. of children tested in 2006 |
27,521 |
3,262,866 |
No. of children with confirmed Blood Lead Levels > 10 mg/dL in 2006 |
312 |
39,526 |
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Visit the following websites to learn more about lead poisoning and ways to prevent lead exposure. Kansas Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Prevention Program CDC Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Environmental Protection Agency: Protecting Your Child from Lead Poisoning |