Details:

Personal Author:
Brown, Mary Jean ; Margolis, Stephen
Brown, Mary Jean ; Margolis, Stephen Less -
Corporate Authors:
National Center for Environmental Health (U.S.), Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
National Center for Environmental Health (U.S.), Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) Less -
Description:
"Lead is a pervasive environmental contaminant. The adverse health effects of lead exposure in children and adults are well documented, and no safe blood lead threshold in children has been identified. Lead can be ingested from various sources, including lead paint and house dust contaminated by lead paint, as well as soil, drinking water, and food. The concentration of lead, total amount of lead consumed, and duration of lead exposure influence the severity of health effects. Because lead accumulates in the body, all sources of lead should be controlled or eliminated to prevent childhood lead poisoning. Beginning in the 1970s, lead concentrations in air, tap water, food, dust, and soil began to be substantially reduced, resulting in significantly reduced blood lead levels (BLLs) in children throughout the United States. However, children are still being exposed to lead, and many of these children live in housing built before the 1978 ban on lead-based residential paint. These homes might contain lead paint hazards, as well as drinking water service lines made from lead, lead solder, or plumbing materials that contain lead. Adequate corrosion control reduces the leaching of lead plumbing components or solder into drinking water. The majority of public water utilities are in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) of 1991. However, some children are still exposed to lead in drinking water. EPA is reviewing LCR, and additional changes to the rule are expected that will further protect public health. Childhood lead poisoning prevention programs should be made aware of the results of local public water system lead monitoring measurement under LCR and consider drinking water as a potential cause of increased BLLs, especially when other sources of lead exposure are not identified. This review describes a selection of peer-reviewed publications on childhood lead poisoning, sources of lead exposure for adults and children, particularly children aged <6 years, and LCR. What is known and unknown about tap water as a source of lead exposure is summarized, and ways that children might be exposed to lead in drinking water are identified. This report does not provide a comprehensive review of the current scientific literature but builds on other comprehensive reviews, including the Toxicological Profile for Lead and the 2005 CDC statement Preventing Lead Poisoning Among Young Children. When investigating cases of children with BLLs at or above the reference value established as the 97.5 percentile of the distribution of BLLs in U.S. children aged 1-5 years, drinking water should be considered as a source. The recent recommendations from the CDC Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention to reduce or eliminate lead sources for children before they are exposed underscore the need to reduce lead concentrations in drinking water as much as possible.." -p. 1
Content Notes:
Mary Jean Brown, Stephen Margolis, Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services, National Center for Environmental Health.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 7-9).


Subjects:
[+]
Drinking Water Lead Lead Poisoning Population Surveillance Toxicity Water Pollutants
Series:
MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report ; v. 61, suppl. (August 10, 2012)
Document Type:
Journal Issue
Place as Subject:
United States
Collection(s):
Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:1904caa2d0503725816e06f4a5f4d5c7bc8080b99514a2dc8fc2e5ff651bee0a
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/27409/cdc_27409_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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