December 12th, 2017
Although lead poisoning is a preventable disease, it continues to be a major environmental health problem in the United States. An estimated 250,000 children in the United States have elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs). Lead exposure can result in neurological damage, including intellectual impairment, developmental delays, learning disabilities, memory loss, hearing problems, attention deficits, hyperactivity, and behavioral disorders. In extreme cases, lead exposure can result in organ failure, convulsions, coma, and death. While lead is potentially harmful to individuals at any age, it is particularly dangerous to children under the age of six, because their nervous systems are especially vulnerable and because lead uptake is much higher in the early years. The monetary benefits to communities of preventing lead poisoning are enormous. For example, the benefit of preventing lost lifetime earnings due to IQ loss from lead exposure are estimated to be over $43 billion annually. This estimate does not include other benefits, such as avoided medical care, special education, crime, stress on parents and children, avoided attention deficit disorder, and many other avoidable adverse health effects.