CDC Confirms Higher Blood Lead Levels in Flint Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on June 24 released the results of its investigation of the potential health impact that lead contamination in the Flint, Mich., water supply had on the blood lead levels of local children and reported that its findings indicate when the source of the water supply was switched to the Flint River, without appropriate corrosion control measures, young children who drank the water had significantly higher blood lead levels than when their water source was the Detroit water system. After the switch back to the Detroit water system, the percentage of children under 6 years with elevated blood lead levels returned to levels seen before the water switch took place, CDC reported.

CDC’s researchers examined data on levels of lead in blood of children younger than six years before, during, and after the switch in Flint’s water source. The current CDC blood lead level of concern (known as a reference level) is 5 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (?5 µg/dL), which is based on the population of children ages 1-5 in the United States who are in the top 2.5 percent of children tested for lead in their blood. From April 25, 2014, to Oct. 15, 2015 (the period when the Flint River was used for drinking water), the levels of lead in Flint tap water increased over time and analysis of children’s blood lead data detected an increase in BLLs ?5 µg/dL. The likelihood that a child consuming the water would have a blood lead level ?5 µg/dL was nearly 50 percent higher after the switch to Flint River water

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