Law Will Expand Lead Testing for Children

A new law requires all children enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental food program to be tested for lead exposure, increasing the number of children in Michigan who will receive such health screening. Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed Public Act 286 of 2006 (Senate Bill 1198) July 19. More than half of the state's 227,000 WIC participants are children.

Exposure to lead poses a serious health risk, particularly to children. Although lead-based paints and gasoline have not been commonly used for many years, exposure

can occur in older homes where lead-based paint remains, in dust from home remodeling projects, or from contaminated soil and air.

Lead accumulates in the body, and if left untreated, can cause brain, kidney, and liver damage, anemia, mental retardation, behavioral problems, and developmental delays. An estimated 20,000 children younger than age six are affected by lead poisoning in Michigan.

In 2004, the state set a goal of lead screening 80 percent of children served by the state's

Medicaid program by 2007. Through efforts at the Department of Community Health and private health insurers, the number of children being screened is increasing. Governor Granholm said the new legislation will help the state meet its goal, since almost 85 percent of Medicaid-eligible children are also enrolled in WIC's supplemental food program.

In 2003, Governor Granholm established the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Task Force, asking it to identify strategies that will lead to the reduction of lead poisoning.