Lead-poisoning screenings lag in Pittsburgh area
April 22, 2007By: By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Pennsylvania leads the country in the rate of children found with dangerous blood levels of potentially brain-damaging lead, yet children in the Pittsburgh area are less likely to have a blood test for lead poisoning than in most comparable cities.
Pennsylvania's 2005 rate of children diagnosed with high lead levels -- 4.9 percent of children tested -- is highest in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It's not surprising that we live in a post-industrial city with a lot of old housing stock, but it should not be acceptable, considering what we know about the importance of screening and treatment and abatement," said Dr. Stephen Thomas, Philip Hallen Professor of Community Health and Social Justice at the University of Pittsburgh.
Though symptoms don't show up immediately, lead poisoning can damage the brain, cause anemia and hyperactivity, and slow development of youngsters under 6. Severe cases can cause seizures, coma and death. Health experts recommend routine testing for lead poisoning at ages 1 and 2. The most accurate test is a blood test.
A primary treatment is to stop the exposure to lead. In severe cases, an agent can be administered to excrete the lead from the body.
Many children get the poisoning from lead dust or paint chips in older homes.
"According to the 2000 Census, Pennsylvania ranks second in the nation for having the most housing units built before 1950," wrote state Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey in an e-mailed response to questions.
Lead-based paint has been outlawed since the late 1970s.
In 2005, the last year statistics are available from the CDC, 8.6 percent of Allegheny County children under 6 were screened for lead poisoning . That put Allegheny County 41st in lead screening among the 50 biggest U.S. counties and cities where at least a third of homes were built before 1950, according to the Trib study of federal statistics.
"It's pretty embarrassing," said Dr. Sylvia Choi, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital who examines lead-poisoned children. "The possible impact of all those unscreened children is they may have ongoing lead poisoning, and that'll impact their development and their future."
In Allegheny County, 107 children age 6 or under were diagnosed last year as lead-poisoned, according to the state Department of Health. At least another 1,000 children in the county are estimated to be lead-poisoned, but they have either not been screened or their results might not have been entered into a statewide lead surveillance system, according to a study last year by the RAND-University of Pittsburgh Health Institute in Oakland.
In Westmoreland County, 5.5 percent of children under age 6 were screened and 16 were lead-poisoned.
Philadelphia leads the state, screening 32.3 percent of children under 6 in 2005, and 942 children under age 6 diagnosed, according to the state Health Department.
In July, Healthy Homes Resources, a South Side nonprofit, will offer free home inspections in poor neighborhoods and arrange free blood screening for children, said John Gallo, executive director.
"We as a community just need to do a better job to get the word out about lead -- testing homes, testing kids, raising awareness with the medical community about the dangers of lead," he said.
The state does not mandate lead screening, McGarvey said. So parents or primary care doctors must initiate it. Medicaid requires screening of low-income children.
McGarvey attributed the low screening to a lack of public awareness of the dangers of lead and the failure of some insurance companies to reimburse for screening.
The Allegheny County Health Department is required to screen about 1,100 low-income children a year as part of a federal nutrition program. The number tested has decreased because of funding cuts, said spokesman Guillermo Cole.
The county Health Department's annual $330,000 lead program budget also covers mandated inspection of sites possibly tainted by lead and providing education.
Dr. Bruce W. Dixon, the department's director, called the county's screening rate "low" and said it endangers children. Yet to beef up testing would take money from other programs. He said his department would encourage medical societies to get their members to do more screening, though he did not say when this would start.
"We haven't been able to get people to understand that this is a major health issue," Dixon said.
Dr. William F. Coppula, president of the Pittsburgh Pediatric Society, said doctors with whom he works screen all children living in homes built before 1960 and in homes built more recently if they are in bad condition or the parents have hobbies that might expose the family to lead, such as working with stained glass.
"The real issue is getting health care to children who don't have easy access to preventive health services," he said. "This is why the public health aspect is so important with this type of problem."
As house painters, Paul and Kelly Dougherty, who reside in a Victorian home in Highland Park, work daily with lead paint and know well its dangers.
About 14 years ago, Paul Dougherty was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. A medical test found lead in his blood at four times the threshold for poisoning.
He recovered. But about a year ago, their son Seth, now 2, was diagnosed with lead poisoning. The Doughertys are reducing his exposure to paint chips by restricting where he plays, and they watch what he puts in his mouth. When they return from a paint job, they immediately shower and launder their clothes separately from the family's. The front porch is regularly mopped to keep paint chips from being tracked into the house.
"Parents should get their kids tested," Paul Dougherty warns. "That way, you know where you stand."
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7828.
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