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For additional Information
contact Lauren Jenks
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What is Washington State doing to prevent lead poisoning in children? |
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The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is working
to eliminate lead poisoning in Washington State. Lead
poisoning is a significant environmental health problem,
yet, it is preventable.
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Washington State Department of Health
activities include:
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Surveillance to identify people who have been exposed to
lead.
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Outreach to help make people aware of lead hazards and how
they can reduce harmful exposure to lead.
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Poisoning case follow-up to help identify sources of lead
and minimize future exposure for affected individuals.
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The Childhood Blood Lead Registry maintains a record of all blood lead tests
performed on Washington children since May 1993. Since the beginning of the
registry, Department of Health staff have worked in partnership with Local
Health Jurisdictions to help children with elevated blood lead levels
receive appropriate medical follow-up, and to facilitate the investigation
of sources of lead exposure.
In 2007, the Washington State Legislature allocated funds for the 2007–09
biennium to enhance the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
Program Staff Include:
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The Washington State Department of Health
(DOH) convened an expert panel in June 2008 to review, and possibly
modify, DOH Childhood Blood Lead Screening Guidelines. The Expert Panel
was comprised of a mix of pediatric physicians and public health
professionals. The Panel
reviewed research studies, evidence reviews, and other data before making
recommendations.
The Panel recommends that
DOH put its highest priority on primary prevention of lead exposure. In
addition, the panel recommends that DOH:
- Implement a comprehensive public education and outreach effort regarding
sources of lead and the ways in which exposure to lead can be prevented.
- Collaborate with, and fully support, other statewide efforts related to
the removal of
lead from the environment.
- Conduct additional surveillance activities to improve estimates of
prevalence of lead
exposure, and identify possible risk factors.
- Adopt and modify a risk factor questionnaire and make it available to
physicians and
other health care providers.
- Pilot a parent-focused education program to encourage the testing of more
high-risk
children throughout the state.
- Review and strengthen the department’s guidelines regarding the
appropriate medical
responses for blood lead levels over 10 µg/dL and between 5 and 9 µg/dL.
- Engage in more frequent communication with the health care community about
lead.
Published studies and evidence reviews used by the Panel to inform their
recommendations are
listed below:
Evidence Reviews
- Rischitelli, G., Nygren, P., Bougatsos, C., Freeman, M., & Helfand, M.
(2006,
December). Screening for Elevated Lead Levels in Childhood and Pregnancy: An
Updated Summary of
Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
- Rischitelli, G., Nygren, P., Bougatsos, C., Freeman, M., & Helfand, M.
(2006,
December). Evidence Synthesis, Number 44, Screening for Elevated Lead Levels
in Childhood and
Pregnancy: Update of a 1996 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Review.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005).
Preventing Lead
Poisoning in Young
Children. Atlanta: CDC.
- Levin, R., Brown, M.J., Kashtock, M. E., Jacobs, D. E., Whelan,
E. A., Rodman, J., Shock, M. R., Padilla, A., & Sinks, T. (2008, May
19). US Children’s Lead Exposures, 2008 Implications for Prevention, Environmental Health Perspectives.
Policy Statements
- USPSTF. (2006, December).
Recommendation Statement: Screening for Elevated
Blood Lead
Levels in Children and Pregnant Women.
- Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. (2007, November
2).
Interpreting and Managing Blood Lead Levels <10 µg/dL in Children and
Reducing Childhood
Exposures to Lead: Recommendations of CDC’s Advisory Committee on Childhood
Lead Poisoning
Prevention, MMWR, 56, RR-8.
- Binns, H. J., Campbell, C., Brown, M. J. (2007).
Interpreting and Managing
Blood Lead
Levels <10 µg/dL in Children and Reducing Childhood Exposures to Lead:
Recommendations of CDC’s
Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, Pediatrics,120,
e1285-e1298.
- Administration for Children and Families. (2008, March 20).
Information Memorandum: Lead Screening.
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Articles
- Gilbert, S.G. & Weiss, B. (2006). A rationale for lowering the blood lead
action level
from 10 to 2 µg/dL. NeuroToxicology, 27, 693-701.*
- Gilbert, S. (2005). Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues: Our Children’s
Future. NeuroToxicology, 26, 521-530.
- Calvert, G.M., Roscoe, R. J., & Luckhaupt, S. E. (2007, April 27).
Lead
Exposure Among
Females of Childbearing Age -United States, 2004. MMWR, 56(16), 397-400.
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Lead Resources
For a full list of Lead Resources and
Publications, visit our:
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Links to external
resources are provided as a public service and do not imply
endorsement by the Washington State Department of Health.
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