The Centers for Disease Control considers lead to be the greatest environmental health risk to children as their immune systems are still in the developmental stages! It is estimated that lead poisoning affects over 310,000 children in the U.S.

Concerns about lead exposure in U.S. children have grown with the continuing massive federal recalls of toys produced in China using lead paint. To better understand the health effects of lead poisoning in children under the age of six—the age group at the greatest risk for health effects from exposure to lead—

Lead is a naturally occurring heavy metal, often used in industry. It can be dispersed widely in the environment through contamination of water, dust, soil, and some paints. Lead can affect anybody, but children under five years of age are at greater risk because they tend to put

their hands or other objects into their mouths; they absorb more ingested lead than adults; and their brains are still at developing stage so they are more sensitive to the effects of lead.

What can you do to prevent lead poisoning?

•  Children may eat lead or breathe it in. Keep them from eating pain chips, dust or dirt. Clean dust with a wet mop or wet cloth, not with a normal vacuum cleaner. If you work around lead, avoid brining lead dust into your home.

•  Let water run 1 minute before drinking

•  Keep areas where your children are playing clean

•  Have children wash their hands and toys often, Have children play in a san box instead of in the dirt.

•  Children can pick up lead dust from the floor from their toys

•  They can ingest lead dust when they put their hands in their mouths

•  When they suck their thumbs

•  Regularly wash family pets and toys

•  Regularly wash or wet-mop floors, stairs, and window sills to reduce dust

•  Remove recalled imported toys from children

•  Have your child tested for lead. Our Lead TestConfirm Test is a convenient and painless test that you can administer from home. It will give you a report of the amount of lead present in the body. Always check with your pediatrician or healthcare provider for further information and testing.

•  Pregnant Women: Need to be tested too. A women with lead in her body may give to her unburn child. During pregnancy a women's hormones may mobilize calcium for the growth of the baby and also mobilize any lead that she has laid down on her bones anytime throughout her life.

Healthy Eating is important:

Because it helps protect the body against lead's effects. A low fat diet is best, especially one that includes foods with lots of calcium, iron and zinc.

Lead poisoning is usually caused by months or years of exposure to small amounts of lead in the home, work, or day care environment. It can also happen very quickly with exposure to high concentrations. The most common source of lead exposure for children is lead-based paint and dust and soil that are contaminated by it, especially in older homes and buildings.

Fore more information on recalls:

Photos and descriptions of recalled toys can be found by visiting www.recalls.gov.

If you have concerns about Lead in Toy Jewelry see http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/faq/jewelry.htm for information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.