Elevated blood lead in young children due to lead-contaminated drinking water: Washington, DC, 2001-2004.
Incidence of EBL (blood lead > or =10 microg/dL) for children aged < or = 1.3 years in Washington, DC increased more than 4 times comparing 2001-2003 when lead in water was high versus 2000 when lead in water was low. The incidence of EBL was highly correlated (R2 = 0.81) to 90th percentile lead in water lead levels (WLLs) from 2000 to 2007 for children aged < or = 1.3 years. The risk of exposure to high water lead levels varied markedly in different neighborhoods of the city. For children aged < or =30 months there were not strong correlations between WLLs and EBL, when analyzed for the city as a whole. However, the incidence of EBL increased 2.4 times in high-risk neighborhoods, increased 1.12 times in moderate-risk neighborhoods, and decreased in low-risk neighborhoods comparing 2003 to 2000. The incidence of EBL for children aged < or =30 months also deviated from national trends in a manner that was highly correlated with 90th percentile lead in water levels from 2000 to 2007 (R2 = 0.83) in the high-risk neighborhoods. These effects are consistent with predictions based on biokinetic models and prior research.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA. edwardsm@vt.edu
Marc
M
Edwards
Simoni
S
Triantafyllidou
Dana
D
Best
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004219:District of Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000097:blood*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D007854:Lead