Few tested show lead exposure.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

A follow-up test for lead poisoning in 100 Lane County children turned up no pattern to suggest a single point of exposure, according to Lane County environmental health specialist Tamara Wilhite.

Tests of 50 local children last month found elevated levels of lead in the blood of three, prompting local health officials to do more testing.

"It's good news," Wilhite said.

Only one test in the 100 found lead at a concentration higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter - the point at which health officials examine a child's living areas to find any source of potential lead poisoning, Wilhite said. The recent test results are well within national norms.

However, Wilhite said the recent test results are no reason for parents to drop their guard against lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning affects virtually every system in the body, and often occurs with no distinctive symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can damage a child's central nervous system, kidneys and reproductive system and, at higher levels, can cause coma, convulsions and death.

Even low levels of lead are harmful and are associated with decreased intelligence, impaired neurobehavioral development, decreased stature and growth, and impaired hearing acuity, according to CDC publications.

Most often, children of crawling age are exposed to lead from paint in older homes. Lead-painted window sashes, doors and other surfaces that rub together may continue to create dust containing lead even after being covered with modern paint, Wilhite said. Crawling children get it on their hands and then into their mouths.

"It's a lot more of a hazard with children because their nervous systems are developing and they also don't pass the lead out of their bodies as quickly as adults do," Wilhite said.

A national push to reduce lead in the environment has been successful, but more needs to be done, officials say.

Data from the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show that the percentage of American children with elevated blood lead levels dropped from 88.2 percent in the late 1970s to 4.4 percent in the early 1990s.

LEAD HAZARDS

Lead can cause aggressive behavior and lower intelligence and create other health problems. Parents of children at risk should consider having their children screened. At-risk children are those who:

Live in or regularly visit a home or other structure built before 1950

Have a brother, sister or playmate with lead poisoning

Spend time with an adult who works with or has hobbies involving painting, remodeling, auto radiators, batteries, auto repair, soldering, making sinkers, shooting, hunting or fishing

Take home remedies or are exposed to cosmetics such as Azarcon, Alarcon, Rueda, Pay-loo-ah or kohl

Have pottery in the home from another country, or have lead crystal or pewter used for cooking, storing or serving food

Have been adopted from or visited a foreign country in the past six months

Have delayed development

Exposure can be lessened by regularly wet-wiping floors, windowsills and other places children play; washing children's hands and toys; teaching children always to wash hands before eating

- Lane County Public Health