Children in low-income households are at greater risk of lead exposure.
Children’s neighborhoods and their parents’ income have a lot to do with their risk for lead poisoning.
Although it’s been about 40 years since lead was phased out of consumer products such as gasoline and paint, the repercussions of its legacy are still felt across America. Washington state is no exception.
There are several ways a child can be exposed to lead, but paint, commonly found in old homes, remains the most common. In its efforts to better track where children might be most vulnerable to lead poisoning, the Washington Department of Health created Lead Exposure Risk Index model. The model uses census data on housing and poverty, because the federal government shows being poor — up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level — and a home’s age to be the biggest factors for lead poisoning.
“We wanted to know where our highest-risk populations live so we can target our program efforts,” said Elisabeth Long, childhood lead poisoning surveillance epidemiologist with the state health department.
Lead poisoning is harmful at any age, but it’s especially toxic to children. Even relatively low levels of exposure can cause permanent IQ loss and behavioral and health problems.
The statewide map assesses lead poisoning risk on a scale from 1 to 10 and allows users to filter based on income levels and/or housing age.
In Clark County, the map shows Vancouver as having the greatest risk. The southwest part of the city, in areas below 39th Street and state Highway 500 and from Vancouver Lake over to a few blocks east of Marine Park on the Columbia River, had ratings between 8 and 10.
“Those are the much older areas of the city … you’re going to have a lot of older homes there,” said Bryan DeDoncker, environmental health specialist and certified lead risk assessor for Clark County. “Lead dust is the biggest source of exposure. That’s friction sources in areas like painted windows you have to slide up and down or windows that are weather damaged.”
The urban cores of Camas, east of the Crown Zellerbach power ditch, and Washougal, west of the intersection of G and 28th streets, had a risk of 9.
Most of the rest of the county had a risk factor between 1 and 3.
The map is a strong resource, but it is limited. Several other factors that might expose children to lead, such as contaminated soil or having a parent who works in a lead-emitting industry, are not included in the map.
“An individual can be exposed to lead anywhere,” DeDoncker said. “It’s one of those elements still out there if it’s in the form of old housing, plumbing fixtures, so it’s hard to identify where it really is.”
DeDoncker said there are many unexpected sources of lead in a home including antiques, lead-based glazes on ceramics and even key rings.
Unlike some states, Washington doesn’t universally screen children for lead exposure. Instead, health officials say they’re taking a “targeted approach” to combating lead poisoning. That means urging doctors to assess all children up to 2 years of age and use a state algorithm to determine if a blood test is warranted. The health department recommends performing universal screenings on refugee children. Children on Medicaid are federally required to receive screening for elevated lead levels in their blood.
‘Unfortunate number’
Last year 13 children in Clark County tested positive for lead poisoning.
“It’s an unfortunate number,” DeDoncker said. “Any number is concerning on the grand scale, but I’m sure there are other places in the state and county that have much higher numbers.”
According to a report on the state’s targeted approach to lead screening, the number of blood tests given to children has increased over the last decade, but testing is still below the national average. Nationally, 10.5 percent of children are tested for lead poisoning, while only about 3.5 percent are tested in Washington, but the figures only go to 2012.
“We have about 1.2 million housing units in the state built before 1978; each may have a lead hazard,” Long said. But it’s hard to quantify how many children living in those homes have lead exposure because the state has small screening rates.
Officials say the only practical approach to preventing lead poisoning in children is reducing their exposures to contaminated soil, dust, paint, and water. Ensuring children get enough iron and calcium, which can reduce lead absorption, is also a good strategy.
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