Lead poisoning is not just a Flint problem

We have watched and read about the horrible man-made tragedy of Flint, Michigan's water supply and the lead contamination and its possible impact on the city's residents, particularly its children. While our water supply is safe, our children face other sources of lead that could be lurking in the paint on a wall or floor.

The Georgia Department of Public Health was awarded a three-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to build the state's capacity for lead surveillance to aid in prevention and ultimate elimination of childhood lead poisoning." Lead paint was banned in 1978, so one way to determine which areas are at greater risk of having children with higher exposure to lead poisoning was to examine which counties had the highest number of pre-1978 housing.

If a home was built before 1950, the lead content in paint was even higher. The state, according to the DPH study has 1,548,796 homes built before 1978 and 578,867 built before 1950. The DPH Environmental Health team reviewed an existing lead poisoning prevention map and determined it needed updating, so they used new tools such as geographical information system technology intertwined with census data on housing and blood lead surveillance. It is no surprise that higher lead levels in children and poverty run in the same circles.

The map, released last year, is based on the number of children in 2013 with elevated lead levels. The CDC emphasizes that no level of lead in the blood is safe, but when it reaches 5 micrograms per deciliter, medical help should be sought. Lead poisoning can cause all sorts of disabilities, seizures, learning and cognitive and behavioral problems, and even death.

We often have wondered what's wrong with some of today's youths. We know many grow up without the necessary guidance of loving, caring adults. Teachers recount instances of children having all sorts of unexplained issues, from attention problems to outbursts, to antisocial behavior. There may be another factor at work here. They may have been poisoned.

There are 14 Georgia counties that are at high risk for childhood lead poisoning, and two of them are right here in Middle Georgia -- Bibb and Houston.

The Bibb County Health Department as well as Houston County are aware of this information and can help. National Public Health Week ended April 8, but our health and that of our children is a year-round event. Have your children tested, particularly if you've ever lived in a pre-1978 home.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Lead poisoning is not just a Flint problem ."