Prescenzifall2014EH2000

Lead poisoning is a very substantial problem in todays world, this includes in the state of Ohio.  This really is not to surprising when you consider the fact that over 42 percent of all housing units in Ohio were built before 1950 and are highly likely to contain lead hazards. This comes out to be about 3.7 billion homes or apartments (http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/cfhs/lead_ch/lead_data.aspx) This is most prevalent in the lead based paint at the time used in the homes.  Lead was used in the majority of paints at the time because it added to the quality.  Even though lead has been known as a poison for ages.  Someone, usually children can get lead poisoning many ways.  The lead can come from paint, contaminated dust, gasoline products from the past, old toys, pollution, glazes, paints, and many other products produced in the past. (http://www.healthline.com/health/lead-poisoning#Overview1) Someone gets lead poisoning because they establish a build up of lead within there body over a certain amount of time that becomes harmful.  This is especially harmful in young children because there bodies are smaller and can not deal with the lead as well as an adult could.  The brains and body systems of children are also still developing which means the lead can have long term to life long effects on a child.  Lead poisoning in Ohio and across the country is more prevalent in children in minority families.  This is because there is a higher concentration of them in low class settings, which are not ideal for health safety.  Another likely cause for this statistic is that people of lower incomes are less likely to be educated on lead poisoning.  The incidence rate in Ohio for children under he age of six with blood levels greater than 10ug/dL is declining.  In 1999 it was 8.9% and in 2013 it was .08%.  The prevalence rate is also going down, in 2005 children with levels greater than a blood level of 10ug/dL was 1.85% and it was 1.04% in 2009.  Locally, in Athens county, .25 percent of children have potentially harmful levels of lead in there body.