WASHINGTON — (CNN) The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, put lead poisoning back in the spotlight, but the problem is much greater than Flint.
Millions of homes in the U.S. contain lead based paint that could cause brain damage to children. While Flint’s water crisis highlighted the lead in water, everyday items like pottery, toys, herbal remedies, jewelry, candy or paint can contain lead, too.
Health officials estimate more than 1,500 children in the Kansas City area have had lead poisoning from lead paint found inside old homes.
That number could be higher, but only a small percentage of children are actually ever tested for lead.
Amy Roberts, the program manager for the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program with the Kansas City Health Department says lead poisoning is a serious problem in the metro.
Many homes built before 1978, the year when lead-based paint was outlawed, contain lead paint.
A majority of these homes are located in poor neighborhoods, health officials say.
“Almost 80 percent of the home in Kansas City were built before 1978, so there are a large number of houses that are at risk of having lead paint,” Roberts said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics said more testing needs to be done and called on local, state, and federal leaders to implement and fully fund programs to perform the tests.
Dr. Benard Dreyer, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said lead poisoning is being found too late in children.
“We know now that even low levels of lead can cause ADHD, learning problems and aggressive behavior,” Dreyer said.
Problems like brain damage, speech delay, kidney complications and even death can be a result of lead exposure.
That’s why Dreyer led the charge by the American Academy of Pediatrics to demand strict regulations that mandate the government find and eliminate all sources of lead in the country.
“We need to make sure we prevent it because there’s no treatment,” he said.
Both Missouri and Kansas City have programs that track and test children and homes with lead. Kansas had a similar program, but it disappeared in recent years because of funding challenges.
There’s no word on when or if the program will be resurrected.
It’s estimated that more than 250,000 children could have elevated levels of lead.
Homeowners can test for lead in their homes with Kansas City’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
The program works to protect residents from the dangers of lead exposure by providing blood lead testing for children and pregnant woman, case management for lead poisoned children, product testing, hazard identification and home repair for qualified families.
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