Flint's Lead Crisis 'Entirely Preventable'
CDC looks at kids' blood levels before, during and after city's switch to local water
By Margaret Farley Steele
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, June 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Analysis of blood samples from young children of Flint, Mich., shows they had much more lead in their blood when the city used local drinking water in an effort to cut costs, a new U.S. government study reveals.
A series of blood samples showed kids younger than 6 were nearly 50 percent more likely to have elevated blood lead levels when the city used the Flint River for drinking water instead of the Detroit water system, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded.
The percentage of kids with high lead content returned to previous levels once the city switched back to the Detroit system. The reason for the lead contamination? Inappropriate corrosion control measures, investigators said.
"This crisis was entirely preventable, and a startling reminder of the critical need to eliminate all sources of lead from our children's environment," Patrick Breysse, director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, said in an agency news release.
Even low levels of lead in children's blood can affect intelligence, ability to pay attention and academic achievement, the agency noted.
The blood lead level of concern is 5 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. During the period that the Flint River water was used (April 25, 2014 to Oct. 15, 2015), lead levels in local tap water increased over time, as did lead content in children's blood, the CDC said.
The CDC has advised that all children under age 6 in Flint have their blood tested for lead by a health care provider.
According to Dr. Nicole Lurie, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, "Parents and teachers can do a lot to help children grow up healthy and strong, even if they were exposed to lead."
She said the city's children are getting developmental assessments and needed services. "We have also expanded Medicaid and strongly urge parents to enroll their children and schedule appointments for them to be seen by a health provider, who can follow their health as they grow and develop," Lurie said.
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