Lower levels of lead in the body can still cause problems, like trouble paying attention, behavior problems, learning difficulties and a fall in the IQ of young children. More than 4 percent of children in the United States have lead poisoning. Rates of lead poisoning are even higher in large cities and among people with low incomes. The most common cause of lead poisoning today is old paint with lead in it. Lead has not been used in house paint since 1978.
Toddlers explore their world by putting things in their mouths.
Therefore, young children who live in older buildings are at especially high risk of getting lead poisoning. Children can get lead poisoning by chewing on pieces of peeling paint or by swallowing house dust or soil that contains tiny chips of the leaded paint from these buildings. Lead can also be in air, water and food. Lead levels in the air have gone down greatly since lead was taken out of gasoline in the 1970s. Lead is still found in some old water pipes, although using lead solder to mend or put together water pipes is no longer allowed in the United States.