Public Health Department
Lead Fact Sheet --- Lead Poisoning is Preventable!
What is the problem?
Many homes built before 1950 may have used lead-based paint that poses a health risk to children under 6. Lead poisoning occurs when there is too much lead in the body. Lead can cause damage to the kidneys, nervous system and brain in children and adults. Lead poisoning often occurs with no obvious symptoms and frequently goes unrecognized. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems. Very high levels of lead can cause seizures, coma and even death. Lead-based paint was banned in 1978.
Approximately 83% of the housing stock in Wayne County excluding the City of Detroit was built before 1978. Hamtramck [96 %] and Highland Park [92%] are the cities having the greatest concentration of older homes followed by Dearborn, Lincoln Park, River Rouge and Taylor.
How are children exposed to lead?
The major source of lead exposure among U.S. children is from lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust found in deteriorating buildings. The dust and paint chips get on children's hands, toys and pacifiers. Because lead paint tastes sweet, children will often chew on painted surfaces like windowsills. Other sources of lead hazards:
- Painted toys and household furniture
- Lead-glazed ceramic wares, pottery and leaded crystal
- Lead smelters
- Hobbies
- Folk remedies [Greta, Azarcon and Pay loo ah]
- Greta & Azarcon used in Hispanic and Asian communities to treat an upset stomach
- Pay loo ah is a red powder used to treat rash and fever
Check-out Wayne County’s LeadSafe Housing Registry!
Who is at risk?
All children are potentially at risk! However, children under the age of 6 years are at increased risk for lead contamination because they tend to put their hands or other objects into their mouths. Also, children living at or below the poverty line who live in older housing are at greatest risk.
Protecting Your Children from Lead Poisoning
There are ways you can temporarily control exposure to lead-based paint, dust and soil:
- Keep your home clean by washing floors, window frames and windowsills
- Keep your home free from household dust as much as possible
- Wipe up any paint chips with wet sponge or rag
- Ensure that your family members eat well-balanced meals
A simple blood test by a doctor can determine your children's lead levels! Pregnant women should be tested for lead as well!
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
For more information please call (734) 727-7000
Wayne County begins testing children for lead at Health Centers
Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano announced Tuesday, March 2, 2004 that the Department of Public Health will test children between the ages of six months and six years for elevated blood lead levels at health centers in Dearborn, Taylor, Lincoln Park, Sumpter and Wayne.
The testing is part of the County's expanded lead prevention program, which is making free lead testing and screening services available to all children who are at increased risk for lead poisoning in Wayne County.
"Lead poisoning poses a significant threat to the health and development of our children. Through this program, we'll be able to reach thousands of children and their families and actually prevent lead poisoning in the first place," said Ficano.
Currently, the Health Department provides on-going lead prevention activities through its nursing staff and its division of Environmental Health. Nurses provide lead prevention education services to families with children with elevated blood lead levels between 10 to 19 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood [ug/dL]. Nurses give a complete health and developmental assessment to children with a blood lead level of 20 or greater. Environmentalists make home visits with these families for the purpose of identifying potential hazards and providing information on lead abatement options for the home. The homes are re-inspected after lead control activities have been implemented to assure a safe home environment.
Under the new lead testing program, which starts immediately, Wayne County is providing on-demand lead testing at all five of county health centers to WIC enrollees, health department clients, and others that are interested in receiving a lead blood test. The Health Department is also partnering with Head Start and other community groups interested in receiving testing services.
Anahid Kulwicki, Public Health Director for the Wayne County Department of Public Health said the County can now offer the expanded program because two county nurses received specialized training to become certified lead inspectors and assess the risks for lead poisoning.
"These nurses are now capable of performing dust sampling activities when making home visits to provide lead prevention education," Kulwicki said. "Our expanded lead prevention program allows us to reach more children and families. In the past, only about nine percent of the children aged six and under who lived in the service area for the Wayne County Health Department were tested. Our program increases testing significantly."
A lead-poisoned child may seem healthy or have any of these signs: upset stomach; tiredness; loss of appetite; constipation; hearing problems; weight loss; hyperactivity; irritability and difficulty sleeping.
The major source of lead exposure is lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust found in deteriorating buildings. The dust and paint chips get on children's hands, toys and pacifiers. Because lead paint tastes sweet, children will often chew on painted surfaces like windowsills. Lead-based paints were banned for use in housing in 1978. Approximately 83 percent of the housing stock in Wayne County, excluding Detroit, was built before 1978.
Children living in older buildings are most at-risk. Health officials recommend that at-risk children get tested for lead exposure at the age of six months. Children who are not at risk for lead exposure should be tested for the first time at the age of one year, and again at age two. Also, pregnant women should be tested for lead. A simple blood test by a health care professional can determine children's lead levels.
In 2003, state health officials confirmed 3,141 children under six years old with elevated blood level, but estimated that as many as 14,000 children were lead poisoned, including 6,800 in Wayne County.
The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 434,000 U.S. children between the ages of 1 and 5 had elevated blood lead levels in 2002, the most recent year national figures are available.
Lead testing and screening services are available at all Wayne County Health Centers. Their locations are:
Dearborn Health Center
6450 Maple
Dearborn, MI 48126
(313) 216-2201
|
Taylor Health Center
26650 Eureka Road
Taylor, MI 48180
(734) 955-3900
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Wayne Health Center
33030 Van Born
Wayne, MI 48184
(734) 727-7100
|
Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs
The Lead Poison Prevention Programs [Case Management and Primary Prevention] deal with lead poisoned children and the existing problem of high lead levels in paint/dust/soil in areas that may cause a potential threat to children. If the lead paint is suspected as a factor in an illness, an investigation is conducted to determine the actual source. Painted surfaces/dusts/soils can be tested to determine the lead content, and remedial actions may be pursued to prevent future illness.
One of the first steps in determining if your child is lead poisoned is to have your child tested for blood lead levels at a doctor's office. This involves only a simple blood test and is important because lead poisoning can cause numerous different developmental problems in young children. Children under the age of [6] years are considered the most at-risk.
For more information about any of Wayne County's Lead Poison Prevention Programs, please contact the Environmental Health Division at: (734) 727-7400.
Lead Education
If a child 6 months through 6 years is reported to have a blood lead level of 10-19, then the Wayne County will:
- Send a public health nurse to conduct a home visit to provide
lead poisoning prevention information and physiological risk.
- Conducts home assessment to identify lead dangers and provide
lead hazard control options.
- Work with property owners to ensure that lead correction and
abatement efforts are completed in a timely manner.
Case Management
If a child 6 months through 6 years is reported to have a blood lead level
equal to or greater than 20, then the Wayne County will:
- Provide a public health nurse to conduct a complete health
and developmental assessment. The public health nurse monitors
medical follow up to ensure that a child is tested.
- Provide an environmentalist to make a home visit to identify
all sources of lead using proper equipment and systematic sampling
procedures.
- Provide an environmentalist to provide information on temporary
and permanent lead control options. Environmentalist works with
homeowners and rental property owners to assure that correction
and abatement activities are completed in a timely manner.