In the last quarter-century childhood lead poisoning declined dramatically as common sources of lead exposure such as leaded gasoline were eliminated or reduced. From 1976 through 1994, the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels [10 micrograms lead per deciliter whole blood (µg/dL) or more] among children aged 1 to 5 years dropped from to (10, 29, 79). As childhood lead poisoning has declined, its frequency became more varied across family income, geographic area, and ethnicity, and lead poisoning became concentrated in poor, African-American children living in substandard housing in inner-city neighborhoods (29). These.
