We find that additional factors can put some children at even greater risk. It is a fact that children living in racial or ethnic communities, and children living in poverty, are indeed at greater risk for exposure to environmental hazards. People living in communities where they have little or no political clout to speak out against toxins found in their neighborhoods are realizing that their childrens health has been harmed. And these groups of children tragically experience higher rates of diseases related to environmental exposures. We find that these children are often miss diagnosed and thought to be slow learners when in fact they are suffering from the effects of lead poisoning.
Childhood lead poisoning disproportionately affects poor and minority children.
In a national study, higher blood lead levels were found among African American and Hispanic children than among white non-Hispanic children. Asthma is widespread and hospitalization and death rates among our youth is increasing. The rates for asthma-related deaths and hospitalizations are routinely higher for African American children. According to the Center for Disease Control, among those aged 0-24 years old, blacks were 3.4 times more likely than whites to be hospitalized for asthma. Between 1980 and 1993, death rates for asthma were consistently higher among black aged 15-24.