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Lead poisoning is a complex health issue, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, because most children with elevated lead levels in their blood do not show any outward symptoms.
But while symptoms may not be evident, the risk to children 6 and younger is significant.
According to the EPA, young children are most at risk from lead poisoning because their bodies are not fully developed. Lead poisoning can cause brain, liver and kidney damage, as well as slowed mental development, learning or behavior problems, hearing loss and restlessness. According to the Mayo Clinic, death from lead poisoning is uncommon.
The only way to detect lead poisoning is by a simple blood test, which is why local city and health officials encourage anyone concerned about their children's health to attend Thursday's public meeting at the Schlanger Park Community Center. Health care professionals will be present at the meeting, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m., to perform blood tests on children 6 years old and younger. Janis Goedeke, health official with the Crawford County Health Department, said enough medical equipment will be available to test more than 100 children. Goedeke said the tests are simple and consist of a "little pin prick."
The EPA suggests that all children under the age of 6 have their blood tested regularly for lead. Because many homes, especially those built before 1978, contain lead-based paint, children can be exposed to the toxic metal even if their yards are clean. Also, children may breathe in lead dust from windows, doors, edges of stairs, rails or other surfaces with lead-based paint wear down from repeated friction.
Also, according to the EPA, some children's products such as dolls, crayons, chalk and jewelry may contain unsafe levels of lead. When a child puts an object containing lead in his or her mouth, the child can suffer from lead poisoning.
Goedeke said the CCHD tests hundreds of children each year as part of the KAN Be Healthy program, a Medicaid program for children, teens and young adults. Last year, about one percent of the 400 to 500 children tested showed elevated lead levels in their blood. The national average also is around one percent. Also, just one of 86 children tested after last fall's mercury spill at Schlanger Park showed elevated blood lead levels.
The approximately 167 residential properties that will be tested during next month's soil assessment project were chosen due to their proximity to the former Pittsburg Zinc Company's smelter sites. Because the byproducts of the smelting process included material contaminated with lead, among other dangerous contaminants, there is a chance that air emissions may have spread some of the contaminated material to surround properties.
John Bailey, Pittsburg's director of public utilities, said while soil around many homes will be tested, there's a chance few yards will be deemed contaminated.
"It's really just an effort to find out what levels of lead contamination are within the 500 feet of the smelter properties themselves," he said. "But lead is heavy, and it might not have blown as far as we think it may have."
Bailey said if a relatively low number of property owners in the affected area return the access consent form that was mailed Saturday, city officials may turn to door hangers or other methods to obtain permission to test those properties.
All schools, city parks, daycare center and church playgrounds also will be tested. According to EPA officials, areas with the most "sensitive population" — in this case, that population is young children — will be top the agency's priority list.
Lead poisoning is a complex health issue, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, because most children with elevated lead levels in their blood do not show any outward symptoms.
But while symptoms may not be evident, the risk to children 6 and younger is significant.
According to the EPA, young children are most at risk from lead poisoning because their bodies are not fully developed. Lead poisoning can cause brain, liver and kidney damage, as well as slowed mental development, learning or behavior problems, hearing loss and restlessness. According to the Mayo Clinic, death from lead poisoning is uncommon.
The only way to detect lead poisoning is by a simple blood test, which is why local city and health officials encourage anyone concerned about their children's health to attend Thursday's public meeting at the Schlanger Park Community Center. Health care professionals will be present at the meeting, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m., to perform blood tests on children 6 years old and younger. Janis Goedeke, health official with the Crawford County Health Department, said enough medical equipment will be available to test more than 100 children. Goedeke said the tests are simple and consist of a "little pin prick."
The EPA suggests that all children under the age of 6 have their blood tested regularly for lead. Because many homes, especially those built before 1978, contain lead-based paint, children can be exposed to the toxic metal even if their yards are clean. Also, children may breathe in lead dust from windows, doors, edges of stairs, rails or other surfaces with lead-based paint wear down from repeated friction.
Also, according to the EPA, some children's products such as dolls, crayons, chalk and jewelry may contain unsafe levels of lead. When a child puts an object containing lead in his or her mouth, the child can suffer from lead poisoning.
Goedeke said the CCHD tests hundreds of children each year as part of the KAN Be Healthy program, a Medicaid program for children, teens and young adults. Last year, about one percent of the 400 to 500 children tested showed elevated lead levels in their blood. The national average also is around one percent. Also, just one of 86 children tested after last fall's mercury spill at Schlanger Park showed elevated blood lead levels.
The approximately 167 residential properties that will be tested during next month's soil assessment project were chosen due to their proximity to the former Pittsburg Zinc Company's smelter sites. Because the byproducts of the smelting process included material contaminated with lead, among other dangerous contaminants, there is a chance that air emissions may have spread some of the contaminated material to surround properties.
John Bailey, Pittsburg's director of public utilities, said while soil around many homes will be tested, there's a chance few yards will be deemed contaminated.
"It's really just an effort to find out what levels of lead contamination are within the 500 feet of the smelter properties themselves," he said. "But lead is heavy, and it might not have blown as far as we think it may have."
Bailey said if a relatively low number of property owners in the affected area return the access consent form that was mailed Saturday, city officials may turn to door hangers or other methods to obtain permission to test those properties.
All schools, city parks, daycare center and church playgrounds also will be tested. According to EPA officials, areas with the most "sensitive population" — in this case, that population is young children — will be top the agency's priority list.
