News Coverage
Lead Poisoning Study: Thousands of Ohio kids not getting treatment
Published May 3, 2004
More than 13,300 Ohio children who suffer from lead poisoning won't get the treatment they need because no one knows they're sick, a national environmental group reported in a study yesterday.
The Washington-based Environmental Working Group study used data from the U.S. Census, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health to come up with that figure, which represents about 70 percent of all lead-poisoned children in Ohio.
The percentage of undiagnosed children climbs to 90 percent in Franklin County, where the report says there are 145 confirmed cases of poisoning out of an estimated 1,495 ill children. The group used these results to call for tougher testing rules and standards.
Although state and Columbus-area health officials would not comment on the report's accuracy, all said more screenings are necessary.
"We agree there are kids being missed," said Jim Haley, the Columbus Health Department's lead program coordinator. "That's the important part."
The report also blasts state health officials for not enforcing mandatory lead screenings for children in the Medicaid program. The study found that HMOs that oversee the program conduct, at most, about 30 percent of the federally required lead screenings for 2-year-olds.
"The failure to test children for lead poisoning results in a dramatic undercounting of children in Ohio," said Arianne Callender, the Working Group's general counsel and author of the report.
Jon Allen, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which oversees Medicaid, said 44 percent of 1-year-olds and 27 percent of 2-year-olds in the program were tested in 2002. He said the agency has been working to increase those numbers.
The Working Group report blames HMOs working under contract with the state for not doing the tests, but Allen said that's not entirely fair. Parents who fail to bring their children in for testing should shoulder some of the responsibility as well.
"What are they going to do? Put the parents in jail if they don't take the test?" Allen said. "It's up to the parent to follow through and make that happen. Sometimes it doesn't."
Allen also said the state is pushing its contractors and doctors to perform more screenings.
Karen Hughes, child and family services bureau chief for the Ohio Department of Health, said a lead-testing law that took effect April 1 should help. The law requires lead screenings for children living in "high-risk" ZIP codes.
"We're putting out information to all health-care providers to notify them of the latest calculations of the high-risk ZIP codes in the state," Hughes said. "We should get better at identifying more cases."
Large amounts of lead in a child's blood can cause brain damage, mental retardation, behavior problems, liver and kidney damage, hearing loss and hyperactivity.
Lead poisoning most commonly occurs when infants and toddlers swallow lead-contaminated paint chips and dust found in older homes.
The Working Group study breaks down its estimates by Ohio county and ZIP code and is available online at www.ewg.org/reports/ohiolead/, where visitors can look up their ZIP codes to see the group's findings and assess the local risk for lead poisoning.
Callender said the report's findings underline the need for more federal funding for lead screenings. She said the state also should fine health-care providers who fail to test for lead and use the proceeds to fund expanded prevention programs.
Federal officials also should tighten standards so that even children with lower levels of lead in their systems will receive treatment, she said.
Dr. Bruce Lanphear, a University of Cincinnati researcher, said the state needs to improve efforts to prevent lead poisoning from occurring in the first place.
"We wait until a child actually develops lead poisoning before we take action," Lanphear said. "From a public-health perspective, the only rational approach is to find lead hazards before a child is unduly exposed."
Sidebar: Lead Poisoning
Lead can harm virtually every system in the human body and is particularly harmful to the developing brain and nervous systems of fetuses and young children. . Sources: Children can get lead poisoning by putting hands or toys with lead dust on them in their mouths, eating leadbased paint chips or chewing on window sills and door frames. They also can breathe in lead dust left in the air by renovation projects.
High risk: A high percentage of homes built before 1978 contain lead paint. Houses built before 1960 can have higher concentrations of lead in paint. Lead also leaches into water through old lead pipes.
Protecting kids: Children should be tested once a year for lead up to age 6. Keep children away from peeling paint. Clean dusty surfaces. Meals high in iron and calcium can help prevent lead from being absorbed into children' s bones. Parents worried about lead in water can buy filters and bottled water. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency