A blood-lead test is the only way to diagnose lead poisoning. We urge you to test your children to detect lead poisoning in time to prevent or limit injury. What Everyone Should Know About Lead Poisoning Lead poisoning, the number one environmental health threat to children under the age of 6, is entirely avoidable. It is a disease caused by swallowing or breathing lead. Even small amounts of chipped lead paint or lead dust can be dangerous to children.
Children face great risks because their bodies absorb lead more easily than adult bodies do.
Children put everything into their mouths and no matter how hard you try, it is impossible to keep and eye on a toddler every minute. Millions of American children are affected by lead poisoning. Children who live in old, poorly maintained housing or in housing undergoing renovation, face the greatest risk. Suburban and rural children face danger too, if they live in older homes with peeling or chipping paint or in houses being renovated. Lead paint is the major source of lead poisoning in the United States.