A higher proportion of Monroe County children were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood in 2023 than in 2022, new data show.
Lead poisoning poses many developmental health risks to children. It can lead to developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral issues, and its effects can be permanent and disabling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also entirely preventable through early interventions.
Of the 12,788 children tested in Monroe County last year, 241 were newly found to have elevated blood lead levels of over 5 micrograms per deciliter, the state Health Department’s threshold. That is an increase to about 1.9 percent from 1.2 percent in 2022, when 141 cases of elevated blood lead levels were detected among 12,108 children tested. The rate in 2021 was 1.6 percent.
Nearly half of the unique children tested lived in Rochester ZIP codes, in line with other years, and 3.3 percent of those children had lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter. That number is up significantly from 2022, when 2.1 percent of unique children tested in those ZIP codes flagged positive for a total of 114 children. This year, 197 children were identified.
City housing is more likely to have been built before 1978, which is when lead-based paint was banned federally. While other sources also pose risks, researchers have found that the presence of lead-based paint in the home is the biggest risk factor for children developing lead poisoning. Lead paint chips taste sweet and, when disturbed by scratches and vibrations and whatnot, lead paint can deposit as dust that children then risk breathing in.
“Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. Early testing ensures that we minimize a child’s risk of developing long‐term consequences of lead poisoning by catching and acting on low levels of exposure,” says Marielena Vélez De Brown M.D., Monroe County acting commissioner of public health.
It is important to note that the county’s figures are somewhat conservative. The threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter was adopted by the CDC in 2012 as an advisory level—there is no “safe” blood lead level. Since 2021, the CDC has used a more sensitive threshold of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, which is based on the national population of children aged 1 to 5 years who carry the top 2.5 percent highest blood lead levels.
The state Health Department hasn’t revised its standards to align with the CDC’s, though New York City started requiring reports at the lower threshold in October 2022. There are currently bills in the state Senate and Assembly to bring the state’s threshold in line with the CDC’s. Equivalent bills were killed in committee during the 2021-2022 session.
A number of other in-progress initiatives also have the lead poisoning problem in their crosshairs.
The Lead-Based Paint Right to Know Act—which would require owners of residential real estate built pre-1978 to obtain and disclose the results of lead paint tests before selling the residence and reimburse the cost of those tests from the state’s property transfer tax—passed the state Assembly with the support of local Assemblyman Harry Bronson. The legislation is in committee in the Senate with Sens. Samra Brouk and Jeremy Cooney as co-sponsors.
In February, the Monroe County Legislature unanimously approved $310,000 for the city’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, funding lead testing in homes along with other interventions and initiatives.
Rochester City Council also amended the city’s Municipal Code to be in line with state, Environmental Protection Agency and Housing and Urban Development regulations, including a measure that will mandate a lead dust wipe test for open porches on rental properties.
Justin O’Connor is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
I worked with lead poisoned children at Jordan Health Center from 1994 til 2004.
This makes me very sad to read.