Lead Poisoning Has Severe Economic Impact

November 24, 2014- Lead poisoning remains an ongoing problem in the U.S. Today there’s a higher safety standard used to measure lead levels in blood than there was 10 years ago. There’s also new information about the economic impact of lead poisoning.

In response to scientific evidence, the CDC lowered its reference level in late 2011 by cutting it in half -- to five micrograms per deciliter of blood lead content. By today’s standard, there’s been a decrease in the number of kids with elevated levels of lead in their blood. But problems persist.

By implementing a new standard, the CDC shifted the focus from the acute, clinical effects of lead poisoning to the long-term impact on cognitive development, such as a child’s ability to read, pay attention, and behave.

A June 2014 report, “Economic Impacts Of Lead Exposure and Remediation in Michigan,” talks about the yearly economic impact of childhood lead poisoning. It says the total cost of lead poisoning each year is $330 million. Surprisingly, of the $330 million total, health care costs are a little more than $18 million, or 5 percent. Special education only adds another $2.5 million.

Lead also has been linked to crime, with studies showing that a history of lead poisoning is greater in the prison population. But the big-ticket item is the decreased lifetime earnings of lead-poisoned children, estimated at $206 million.

While lead poisoning has health impacts, it might be more important today to look at it as a brain drain that impacts the future workforce. Kids who are lead poisoned are denied their full potential. In the end, lead poisoning becomes an economic development problem.

Read the full grbj.com story here.

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