June 14th, 2018
Twenty-five years ago, in a commentary published in Pediatrics, Drs Needleman and Jackson asked whether we would still be treating lead poisoning in the 21st century. Unfortunately, despite considerable progress, our public health system is still failing to prevent children from being lead poisoned and the specter of lead poisoning continues to cast a shadow over the country: over 500 000 American children have a blood lead level of >5 μg/dL (>50 ppb); 23 million homes have 1 or more lead hazards; an unknown number of Americans drink water from lead service lines; and federal standards for lead in house dust, soil, and water fail to protect children. We have understandably focused on the plight of children in Flint, Michigan, but children in hundreds of other cities have blood lead levels higher than the children of Flint.