Environmental Factors in Childhood Lead Poisoning

Abstract

In a series of 906 children contacted by door-to-door survey, information was obtained on pica and environmental factors related to lead poisoning, and urine samples were analyzed. Urine was abnormal for lead and coproporphyrin in 216 of 801 children living in old housing and in 3 of 105 children of similar socioeconomic background living in a new housing project. Thirty-eight children from old housing, but none from new housing, had significant evidence of lead intoxication. A history of pica for paint, dirt, or plaster was obtained more frequently in the old housing but was not an adequate screening test for lead intoxication. Flaking paint on the inside of the home was the environmental factor most frequently associated with an abnormal urine.