SPOKANE — The first widespread testing for lead contamination in the blood of Spokane children has found that about 6 percent had ingested measurable amounts of the toxic substance.
But only two of the 500 children tested had levels high enough to be of concern under federal health standards. That’s consistent with previous tests in Washington that found fewer than 1 percent of children had lead levels above federal standards.
The testing was conducted by the Lands Council, an environmental group, under a two-year program funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Children were tested at community centers, churches and Head Start programs.
Lead is toxic and can cause brain damage. Possible sources are old paint, lead in toys, and environmental pollution, including Spokane River sediments.
“Even low levels of lead in children can lead to neural problems,” Kat Hall, environmental health program director for the Lands Council, told The Spokesman-Review.
Testing focused on neighborhoods where the number of old homes likely to have lead paint is high and where children might be exposed to other sources of lead in the environment. About 80 percent of the homes in Spokane were built before lead paint was banned in 1978.
Last week, Tauran Foster, a single father, brought his 3-year-old daughter to Head Start offices for testing.
“I figured we might as well get it done and be safe,” he said.
Daughter Electra appeared fascinated by the process, which involved a pinprick on her finger to take a drop of blood that was measured in a machine purchased for the program. Her lead level was below the machine’s lowest readable amount.
One of the two children tested who had elevated lead levels apparently ingested lead by swallowing dirt outside their home, Hall said. Lead from old paint may have accumulated along the outer walls and gotten mixed with the dirt, she said.
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