Let’s build on recent progress to eliminate childhood lead poisoning from food, paint and water

By Ruth Ann Norton and Jill Rosenthal

Lead is all around us—in our food, our water and even the paint in our homes. It’s also a poison, with lifelong ramifications for children exposed at a young age. Lead and other toxic chemicals pose persistent threats to children’s health, damaging their bodies and brains and robbing them of their futures. In the U.S., one in every 38 children between the ages of one and five has elevated blood lead levels that require action.

Even though the long-term physical and mental health effects of childhood lead poisoning can be devasting and irreversible, lead maintains a heavy presence around us. For instance, a recent federal investigation found lead in cinnamon commonly used in cooking. An estimated 4.3 million children reside in homes with lead paint, the most common source of childhood lead exposure, putting them at risk every day. Parents in Flint, Baltimore, Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee and other cities across the country are confronting the reality that children are being poisoned by lead in their own homes. This is largely the result of decades of redlining and historic disinvestment, which has led to Black children living in racially isolated neighborhoods at higher risk of lead paint exposure.

Eliminating childhood lead poisoning would not only protect children from harm but also advance our country’s economic interests. Lead exposure-related cognitive impairments cost an estimated $50.9 billion annually in lost economic productivity in the U.S. However, by just eradicating lead hazards in the lowest-income housing units the federal government would realize a return on that investment in avoided health care and societal costs, including reduced educational achievement and income.

Eradicating childhood lead poisoning is not an intractable problem, and we are making inroads toward identifying lead exposure and eradicating lead hazards. Maryland has reduced childhood lead poisoning by 99% since 1993 and, along with nine other states and the District of Columbia, requires universal screenings for children two years and younger—a practice otherwise left largely to health care providers’ discretion.

Baltimore-based nonprofit Green & Health Homes Initiative (GHHI) is partnering with Lancaster Pennsylvania’s largest general hospital to use the hospital’s historic $50 million investment to end lead poisoning in their community through comprehensive lead screening, home visits and testing for lead exposure, in-home remediation, and other strategies. This initiative has already removed lead hazards from more than 418 Lancaster homes, meaning over 500 children now live in lead-safe homes. GHHI has developed funding models to address housing-based lead hazards while also improving indoor air quality, energy efficiency and overall resident health. But there’s still much work to be done.

With respect to lead exposure from unsafe drinking water, the Biden administration has made historic infrastructure investments to dramatically speed up the rate of lead service line replacements. The administration has also proposed aggressive lead-reduction regulations beyond water, including through the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead and copper rule improvements and lower lead dust levels, as well as the Federal Drug Administration’s draft guidance on lead in foods marketed for children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reduced its blood lead reference level, which will enable parents and medical professionals to act earlier in identifying and eliminating exposure.

Federal agencies can build on these investments to further prevent lead exposure, as there is no safe level of lead exposure for young children. Recently, the FDA recently recalled applesauce pouches with lead-tainted ground cinnamon marketed for kids. To that end, the FY2025 federal budget must include increased funding for the FDA to protect food safety.

Additionally, the Biden administration’s historic clean energy and climate investments provide an unprecedented opportunity to address housing-based lead hazards while improving residential energy efficiency. With each of these clean energy and climate investments, the federal government must consider the risks of disturbing unstable lead paint as part of its implementation guidance.

Improving energy efficiency without addressing other hazards such as lead, mold and pest control can unintentionally exacerbate health issues. For example, electrification work in pre-1978 homes (the year lead was banned from use in paint) risks disturbing lead paint, releasing dust into the air and sealing it in when the work is completed. Any construction or renovation in pre-1978 homes must assess potential lead hazards before work begins. And if found, lead paint must be safely remediated to avoid unintended health and safety hazards.

As a country, we can positively change the trajectory of millions of children’s lives by eliminating lead from all sources, including from water, food and paint. Recent, unprecedented clean energy and climate investments are poised to significantly catalyze progress. By building on these changes, we can create safer, healthier, more resilient communities. Let’s not pass up the opportunity to give every child a chance for a better future.

Ruth Ann Norton is the president and CEO of the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Jill Rosenthal is the director of public health policy at the Center for American Progress.