The Center for Disease Control and Prevention regards lead poisoning as the number one preventable childhood illness in the United States. Between birth and age six, important developments take place in a child’s brain and central nervous system. If exposed during these formative periods, lead poisoning can have a drastic affect on a child’s development. Children who are exposed to lead and have elevated levels of lead in their blood are at risk for serious health problems such as:

• Reduced IQ and learning disabilities
• Attention deficit disorders
• Behavioral problems
• Decreased stature and growth
• Impaired hearing
• Neurological problems
• Kidney damage and major organ failure
• Encephalopathy (brain swelling)
• Brain damage
• Anemia
• Seizures
• Coma
• Death

Based on numerous studies, researchers have established a relationship between early childhood lead exposure and subsequent decreases in IQ. In one specific study, children who were reported to have increased levels of lead in their blood were examined between the ages of two and three. These children were then given IQ tests between the ages of four and eleven. From these tests, researchers discovered that their IQ was seven to ten points lower than the national average for their age and that for every ten micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (µg/dL) the IQ deficit increased.

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