About Lead Poisoning

Lead is a naturally occurring metal that can cause negative health effects. Breathing or eating anything that contains lead can have adverse effects on nearly all organ systems in the body.

Lead is especially harmful to the developing brains and nervous systems of children under the age of six years old. In adults, exposed to too much lead can suffer from high blood pressure, kidney damage, and fertility problems. Most lead poisonings in North Dakota are caused by exposure to dust from old lead paint.

Lead-Based Paint

More than half of North Dakota homes may have lead paint. Exposure to lead is most common in buildings built before 1950 (when paint contained up to 50% lead), and in buildings built before 1978 when repainting or remodeling is done.

The North Dakota Lead-based Paint Program ensures that lead-based painted material in pre-1978 target housing and child occupied facilities are managed in a manner which minimizes exposure.

List of Approved Lead-Based Paint Abatement Firms for North Dakota

Source: NDDEQ

Child Lead Exposure

There are steps that parents and healthcare providers can take to protect children from lead exposure. Healthcare providers can perform a blood lead test if a child was or may have been exposed to lead.

CDC uses a blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with blood lead levels (BLLs) higher than most children’s levels. CDC estimates that approximately 500,000 children in the United States have BLLs at or above the BLRV. For BLLs higher than the BLRV, healthcare providers can use CDC’s Recommended Actions Based on Blood Lead Level to develop a plan of action for their patient.

Source: CDC