Lead levels higher in Flint kids after water switch

“We have shown there was about a 50 percent increase in the proportion of children with elevated blood lead levels in the population that was screened”, Breysse told NBC News.

“It is encouraging news”, said Mayor Karen Weaver, who still wants all lead-tainted plumbing replaced. No amount is safe but levels at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) are considered elevated.

Lead paint is the major source of lead in US kids but the CDC team said water was the culprit in Flint.

After a water advisory was issued on January 2, 2015 for high levels of trihalomethanes, a byproduct of disinfectants, elevated blood-lead levels dropped somewhat to about 4% of those tested, possibly because it reduced overall tap water consumption, but it didn’t drop precipitously until late past year, when the city switched back to Detroit water after independent experts warned of high lead levels found in the water.

The report’s results are based on blood tests conducted on 7,300 of the 9,600 children younger than six living in Flint during the water crisis.

Because the water chemistry is different, the river water leached away a protective coating inside the water pipes and lead from the pipes got into the water supply. Over the next 10 months – until the discovery of disinfectant compounds in the river prompted officials to issue a water advisory – that figure rose to 5%.

“We have concerns being raised across the country”, he said. Its work was limited to a one-time, one-month analysis, the company said, and did not include lead and copper testing.

The heavy metal kills developing brain cells and the consequences are permanent.

Lead testing in the United States began in 1887, when medical authorities started testing children for lead poisoning. They cited limitations, such as not knowing about lead paint exposure in the children’s homes or whether greater use of bottled water contributed to the decline in lead levels.

Veolia also pointed to a June 2015 memo prepared by Environmental Protection Agency water regulator Miguel Del Toral that was widely publicized and distributed but not officially released.

The report comes a day after federal officials announced filtered tap water was safe for everyone in Flint, lifting a recommendation that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 6 drink bottled water to avoid lead exposure.

Consequently, a lot of people credit him for the political movements that end up in lead being banned from paint and oil. “The key to preventing lead toxicity in children is identification and elimination of the major sources of lead exposure”, according to the policy.

Researchers examined blood test results from more than 7,000 children that were collected around the time authorities made a decision to save money by sourcing Flint’s water from the Flint River instead of Lake Huron.

While there is no treatment, experts say they’re offering support to affected families.

“We have. 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”, Dr. Nicole Lurie, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for preparedness and response, said in a news release about the CDC report.