Argues for increased efforts to eliminate children’s exposure to lead, with an emphasis on primary prevention through improved housing, coupled with continued blood lead screenings among at-risk populations. Identifying populations at high risk for lead poisoning permits effective use of targeted screening and enables communities to focus on such preventive efforts as housing remediation. Research reveals that a significant risk factor for lead poisoning is low socioeconomic status. Data show that: (1) more than half of an estimated 890,000 children with elevated blood lead levels were on Medicaid; (2) Medicaid children accounted for 83 percent of children ages 1 to 5 with elevated blood lead levels higher than the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) definition; and (3) refugee children entering the United States constitute an additional at-risk population as do children adopted from abroad, especially from China and Russia. Key recommendations include screening children who have been adopted or emigrated from countries where lead poisoning is prevalent and making blood lead tests a routine component of medical screening of refugees. To eliminate childhood lead poisoning, health programs and providers need to be particularly vigilant about screening in all high-risk groups and ensure that existing guidelines are fully enforced.
