PHY4.A Lead in the blood of children: Percentage of children ages 1–5 with specified blood lead levels, 1988–1994, 1999–2002, and 2005

Specified blood lead level	1988–1994	1999–2002	2005–2008
=10 µg/dL	6.3	1.6	*
=5 µg/dL	25.6	8.7	3.0
=2.5 µg/dL	61.2	34.0	16.5
* Estimate is considered unreliable (relative standard error greater than 40 percent).
NOTE: A blood level of 10 µg/dL or greater is considered elevated,¹ but adverse health effects have been shown to occur at lower concentrations.²
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2002). Managing elevated blood lead levels among young children: Recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. Atlanta, GA. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/CaseManagement/caseManage_main.htm.
² Canfield, R.L., Henderson, C.R., Jr., Cory-Slechta, D.A., Cox, C., Jusko, T.A., and Lanphear, B.P. (2003). Intellectual impairment in children with blood lead concentrations below 10 micrograms per deciliter. New England Journal of Medicine, 348 (16), 1517–1526.