Strong Evidence of Lead's Damage at Lower Levels / Environment Health Watch

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Strong Evidence of Lead's Damage Below Currently Accepted Levels

The Centers for Disease Control in 1991 established 10 mcg/dl as the blood-lead level of concern for children. There is strong evidence of significant damage to intellectual functioning at even lower blood-lead levels. In 2002, the Bush adminstration stacked the CDC Lead Advisory Panel to head-off a recommendation to lower the level of concern.
"There is now sufficient and compelling scientific evidence for the CDC to lower the blood lead action level in children. This review argues that a level of 2 μg/dL is a useful and feasible replacement. .... Lowering the level of concern would encourage and accelerate the investments needed to ensure that children are protected from lead exposure in their homes, schools, and play settings. ...." "A rationale for lowering the blood lead action level from 10 to 2 μg/dL," Steven G. Gilbert and Bernard Weiss, Neurotoxicology (on-Line 9/06)
Lead and ADHD: About one-third of attention deficit cases among U.S. children may be linked with tobacco smoke before birth or to lead exposure afterward, according to new research. "We found a significant dose-response relationship of higher blood lead levels and ADHD. Compared to the lowest quintile of blood lead levels, children with blood lead levels >2.0 mg/dL were at a 4.1-fold increased risk of ADHD. When we limited the analysis to children with blood leads <5 mg/dL, the association between increased blood lead levels and ADHD remained.

These results are consistent with previous reports that have found significant associations between blood or dentine lead levels and behavior problems …. Our results further indicate that blood lead levels below the CDC action level of 10 mg /dL are associated with an increased risk for ADHD in children …. This result is consistent with previous studies that have found cognitive deficits in children with blood lead levels below 10 mg/dL …" "Exposure to Environmental Toxicants and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in US Children", J. Braun et al, Environmental Health Perspectives (online 9/19/06).
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention action limit of 10 μg/dL for children fails to
protect against most damage and economic cost attributable to lead exposure." Testing the Dose–Response Specification in Epidemiology: Public Health and Policy Consequences for Lead. Stephen J. Rothenberg and Jesse C. Rothenberg, Environmental Health Perspectives
"Blood lead concentrations, even those below 10 micrograms per deciliter, are inversely associated with children’s IQ scores at three and five years of age, associated declines are greater at these concentrations than at higher concentrations. These findings suggest that more U.S. children may by adversely affected by environmental lead than previously thought."
Canfield, R.L. et al. (2003) Intellectual impairment in children with blood lead concentrations below 10 microgram per deciliter. New England Journal of Medicine. 348: 1517-26.
Low-level Environmental Lead Exposure and Children’s Intellectual Function: An International Pooled Analysis, Lanphear, et. al., Environmental Health Perspectives 113(7), July 2005(pdf, 42 pgs.).
Low-level lead exposure may be more harmful to the developing brain before birth than after birth ( Reduced Intellectual Development in Children with Prenatal Lead Exposure, Environmental Health Perspect 114:791-797 (2006).
American Public Health Association's policy statement calling on the CDC to develop intervention guidelines for children with blood lead levels below 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (mcg/dl).
Campaign LEAD 10 to 2 - An argument for resetting the CDC action level for children's blood lead from 10 to 2 mcg/dl.
CDC statement on not lowering the lead poisoning action level
“Recent studies suggest that adverse health effects exist in children at blood lead levels less than 10 μg/dL. In the past the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lowered the level considered elevated in response to similar reports. However, at this time the reasons not to lower the level of concern are as follows..."

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Updated 7/06