Explores emerging data on the prevalence of childhood lead poisoning around the world. Health professionals and researchers get information about: (1) the reduced incidence of childhood lead poisoning in the United States, attributable to government-mandated removal of lead in gasoline, programs to reduce lead paint in housing, and targeted screening of high-risk groups; (2) international sources of lead exposure, including leaded gasoline, lead in flour as a consequence of the way equipment is maintained in flour mills, use of lead-glazed ceramics for cooking, and proximity to lead-glazing kilns, battery-recycling operations, and lead-mining or -smelting operations; and (3) the results of a survey in India, which revealed that in some major cities more than half of the children under the age of 12 had blood lead concentrations in excess of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) definition of elevated blood lead levels. Childhood lead poisoning seems to be of greatest concern in developing countries, including the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines. The challenge is for these countries to institute effective national and regional efforts to address their specific sources of lead. Global coordination among governments can help achieve the goal of worldwide lead poisoning prevention.
