Lead Information for Parents and Families

Lead is a type of heavy metal that, when it gets into the body, acts as a neurotoxin, or a substance that can harm the brain. People have used lead for thousands of years in plumbing, paint, pottery, ammo, batteries, gasoline, and many other things. Due to the hazards, the US passed laws banning lead in many products starting in the 1970s. This means people are exposed to a lot less lead today than people were in the past, but there are still many ways people can be exposed to lead.

The most common source of exposure is lead paint. Houses built before lead-based paint was banned in 1978 may still have surfaces painted with it, especially window and door frames (high friction areas that may create paint dust). Touching the paint, or the tiny bits of dust that come off it, can cause lead to get into the body. Soil and dirt may have lead in it from years of exhaust emitted from cars using leaded gasoline, or from the dust of exterior paint. Lead pipes and plumbing fixtures can lead to lead in drinking water. Lead has also been found in consumer products like toys, cosmetics, and spices. For more info, see the page on Lead Sources.

While lead isn’t good for anybody, it’s especially bad for children and pregnant people. Children’s brains are rapidly growing and developing, anything that interferes with that process can have serious lifelong effects. There is no safe level of lead. Even low levels of exposure can affect IQ, ability to pay attention, school performance, and behavior. Higher levels of exposure can also cause physical effects, such as pain, weight loss, hearing loss, and seizures. There may not be obvious symptoms right away. Only a blood test can tell you for sure if your child has high levels of lead in their body. This is why Allegheny County now requires testing for all children. For more information, visit thepage on Blood Lead Level Testing.

The good news is, thanks to laws banning the use of lead, it’s far less common now for children to have high levels of exposure. In Allegheny County, universal testing means that when a child does have high levels of lead in their blood, it’s more likely to be caught, giving families the chance to eliminate the exposure and address any effects. Pittsburgh’s main water company, PWSA, has been working to remove lead lines throughout the city, and companies in the rest of the county are making similar efforts.

If you live in a home that was built before 1978, or your child spends a lot of time in an older home (for example, a babysitter’s or grandparent’s house), they are at higher risk of exposure. See the pages on Lead Information for Homeowners and Lead Information for Landlords and Renters for more information on how to minimize the risk.

The most important thing you can do is make sure your child gets the required blood tests—once in their first year of life and again at age 2. If they missed those tests, they should get one before starting school.

Since 2018, Allegheny County requires all children to have their blood lead levels tested at the following ages:

1. At about 9-12 months old
2. At about 2 years old
3. If they missed the first two tests, they should be tested by age 6 or before starting school, whichever comes first

This is done by a type of test called a capillary test, also known as a finger stick. This only takes a few seconds, and results are usually ready in a few minutes. If the test is negative, your child doesn’t have elevated blood lead levels.

Capillary tests are quick and easy, but they can be affected by things on the skin or in the environment. This means that if the test is positive, it doesn’t necessarily mean your child has elevated blood lead levels. To be sure the result is accurate, your child will need a follow-up test. This is done with a venous test, where blood is drawn from a vein in the arm. Your doctor’s office may perform the test there, or they may have you to a lab.

For more info on how testing works, what the results mean, and where to go for testing, see thepage on Blood Lead Level Testing.

If the capillary (finger-stick) test is positive, your doctor will need to refer your child for a venous test (blood draw).

If the venous test is positive, this means your child has elevated blood lead levels. What happens next depends on how high the level of lead is. Only very high levels require medical intervention, but there are a variety of resources available at lower levels (some depend on the age of the child or on household income). At any level, the most important thing is to eliminate the source(s) of exposure, which will let the levels in your child’s blood go down over time.

See the Elevated Blood Lead Levels page for more info and resources and the Lead and Nutrition page to learn what types of food can help lower the levels of lead in the body.

In addition to the links in the tabs above, the Preventing Exposure to Lead page has information on how to recognize and avoid different sources, and the Lead Resources page has a number of links, phone numbers, and printouts with information on lead, sources of exposure, home repair, water and soil testing, and more.

To see info on how many children in Allegheny County have elevated blood lead levels, including rates by ZIP code, see theLead Data page.