Young children are most at risk for lead poisoning

COLUMBIA – Each year about 100 South Carolina children up to 6 years old are diagnosed with lead poisoning, a condition that can be prevented when families take some simple precautions.

Lead-based paint and dust in homes built before 1978 and soil contaminated with lead from gasoline are the major sources of lead exposure in children, said M.L. Tanner, director of the S.C. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. “If lead-based paint in houses peels off or becomes flaky or chalky, it will form a fine dust. Touching this dust and then putting their fingers in their mouths may poison children, or they may even eat paint chips.”

Tanner said vinyl miniblinds are a source of lead gaining prominence in South Carolina. Lead can also get into otherwise clean drinking water through lead and copper pipes and solder. Lead-glazed ceramic ware, lead crystal, car batteries, bullets, fishing weights and even some toys are other sources of lead.

Lead poisoning does not always produce obvious symptoms, Tanner added. The only way to detect it is through a blood test. Children should be tested ages 12 months and 24 months.

Other ways people can reduce their exposure to lead include:

. Proper hand washing before meals and after playing.

. Good nutrition to include three nutritious meals and two to three healthy snacks every day. Less lead is absorbed when a child’s stomach is full.

. Eating foods with a high content of iron, calcium and vitamin C. Examples of such foods are: iron containing breads and cereals, meats, chicken, fish, leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, collard greens, kale, tomatoes, potatoes, milk, cheese, yogurt etc. Adequate intake of these nutrients also minimizes lead absorption.

. · If parents are exposed to lead at their workplace, they should shower and change clothes before coming home. They should also wash their work clothes separately from family laundry.

. In order to minimize the lead content in water, tap water should be allowed to run for one to two minutes with the faucet fully open, so that all the water in the household plumbing is flushed out and the standing water has moved from the pipes. Each faucet should be flushed.