Philadelphia—The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is proud to announce the launch of a new Lead Exposure Dashboard called the Childhood Lead Poisoning Surveillance Report. It provides updated information on lead exposure to children in Philadelphia. Although the incidence of lead exposure in our city has been steadily dropping, we still need to do more to protect our children.
Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said, “We have an historic opportunity in Philadelphia to end childhood lead poisoning through the combination of the city’s lead certification requirements for rentals, our expansion of home remediation services to reach even children with minimally elevated lead levels, so that we can intervene before they reach more toxic levels, and helping home owners to access funding for lead remediation. Lead poisoning has lifelong consequences that are absolutely preventable. I’m excited to see the progress that we’ve made so far and committed to continuing that progress so that all of our children are protected from lead poisoning.”
It is important to understand that lead can be harmful to children, even in small amounts. Lead in a child’s body can slow down growth and development, cause behavior problems, damage hearing and speech, and create difficulty hearing and paying attention. Some of these health problems may never go away, preventing lead poisoning in the first place is the best response.
One of the most important things we can do is to make sure our children are getting screened correctly for lead exposure. This means getting them tested by their pediatrician at one year of age and again at two years of age. The sooner an exposure is identified, the sooner we can work to remedy any effects and protect them from further exposure.
A blood test is the best way to determine if a child has been exposed to lead. A blood lead level is the amount of lead in a child’s blood, measured as micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (ug/dL). Blood lead levels of 3.5mcg/dl or higher are considered elevated by PDPH and, beginning July 2022, PDPH expanded home lead prevention and remediation services to all children with blood lead level of 3.5mcg/dl or higher.
The most common source of lead exposure in Philadelphia is lead paint and the dust it produces. Many homes built before 1978 have lead paint; when the paint cracks and peels, it creates dust that may be swallowed by children. Other less common sources of lead exposure include contaminated water and soil, and certain folk medicines, cosmetics, and jewelry.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is working to prevent lead poisoning by removing lead hazards, enforcing lead laws and regulations, and monitoring lead exposure among children. The Lead and Healthy Homes Program, led by the Division of Environmental Health Services, conducts in-home inspections and remediation for income eligible families. PDPH works with other city agencies to ensure that rental properties occupied by children are certified as lead safe or lead free.
Philadelphia’s Lead Safe/Lead Free Law has required landlords to obtain lead inspection and safety certification for properties where children under six were present since 2011. In 2019 the law was expanded to include all rental properties in Philadelphia, not only properties with children. Phased implementation of the law began in 2020 in ZIP codes with high rates of lead exposure and was implemented citywide in 2022. Landlords are now required to obtain a lead certificate to obtain or renew a rental license for all properties. Since 2020, more than 82,000 rental properties (representing over 95% of licensed rental properties) have been certified as lead free or lead safe.
The link to the Childhood Lead Poisoning Surveillance Report can be found here. More information about the dangers of lead can be found in the City’s Lead Guide.