Lead levels in children dropping across New Jersey but not gone, report says. Map shows where the highest levels are
MONTVALE, N.J. -- A new report from New Jersey's Department of Health shows lead levels in children are dropping but not gone.
Health providers say it's important to get children tested because there is no safe level of lead.
New Jersey cities with highest lead levels in children
The report shows the top five cities with the highest levels statewide are Trenton, Irvington, East Orange, Plainfield and Paterson.
In New Jersey, children between the ages of 12 months and 6 years old are required to be tested for lead.
According to a new state report, elevated lead levels in children are dropping, but they could start going up because New Jersey has changed it's action level.
The study does not account for elements that could vary, like screening rates or sources of exposure, including the age of housing.
Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed putting millions of dollars into expanding lead testing. That proposal is part of the state budget. It won't be approved until July 1.
Health experts warn of lead exposure dangers
Dr. Shivani Shah, director of Valley Mount Sinai Pediatric Clinic in Montvale, says lead exposure in children can be dangerous.
"Most importantly is the developing brain of the child. It can cause learning disabilities," she said. "Something small as the inability to understand, pay attention in school versus something more severe."
Shah says no level of lead is normal in a child's body.
"We can test up to the level of 3.5. For us, the cutoff is anything higher than a level of 3.5 is considered abnormal," she said.
How do children get exposed to lead?
While lead can be found in drinking water from old pipes, health officials say the most common way children come in contact with the toxic metal is through paint in homes built before the 1970s.
"The paint on the walls may contain lead. When paint chips -- children tend to put things in their mouths, and they peel the chips and eat it," said Bruce Ruck, with the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. "Doors and windows that were painted with lead-based paint, as you open and close them, they rub and you get lead dust around from that."
But Ruck says unregulated candy from outside the United States and other items can play a factor, which is why intervention is key.
"We look for spices that come from other countries. We look for the use of old cribs and toys that may have been painted with lead-based paint," he said.
There are outside factors that can also elevate the blood lead level.