Many U.S. Cities Have Higher Rates Of Lead Poisoning Than Flint

"Data collected by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that over 40 percent of the states that reported lead test results in 2014 have higher rates of lead poisoning among children than Flint.

In Flint, 4 percent of kids aged five and under tested with blood-lead levels of at least 5 micrograms per deciliter, the threshold of lead intake that necessitates public health action, as defined by the federal government.

Elsewhere in the country, 12 states reported that a greater percentage of kids under six years old met or surpassed that threshold. The most egregious example is Pennsylvania, where 8.5 percent of the children tested were found to have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood.

Only 27 states (including Washington, D.C.) reported childhood blood lead surveillance results to the CDC’s national database for 2014, the most recent statistical set available."

Yanan Wang reports for the Washington Post February 4, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Lead Poisoning In Pa., N.J. May Be Worse Than Flint" (Philadelphia Inquirer)

"CDC Wants 9K Children In Flint Tested For Lead" (Detroit News)

"Children In Some Springfield Neighborhoods At Risk For Lead Poisoning" (Springfield [Ohio] News-Sun)

"Children In These Alabama ZIP Codes Had Lead In Their Blood" (Mobile Press-Register)

"Two Sebring Area Children Test Positive For Lead" (WFMJ Youngstown)

"Nearly 4,000 Children In Wisconsin Were Diagnosed With Elevated Lead In Blood" (Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism)

"Here's Some Context For Blood Lead Levels in Flint" (Mother Jones)