Oral

In January 2012, the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (ACCLPP) recommended the elimination of the use of the term “blood lead level of concern” and asked the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to update its policy guidance dating back to 1991. The purpose of this session is to provide an update of the current scientific rationale behind this decision and to review the policy and global health implications of these new recommendations. Based on its conclusions that blood lead levels < 10 μg/dL harm children, the Committee recommended the elimination of the use of a “level of concern” and concluded that primary prevention strategies must be emphasized to prevent childhood lead poisoning. Given that some children have already been exposed, the Committee also recommended that a reference value based on the 97.5th percentile of the NHANES-generated blood lead distribution in children age 1-5 years (currently 5 μg/dL) be used to identify children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) for interventions. Specific actions are then suggested to respond to these elevated BLLs that currently impact approximately 450,000 children in the U.S. This session will focus first on the scientific rationale for these recommendations by summarizing the applicable literature. Then the case for advocating a primary prevention policy will be outlined. Examples of primary prevention strategies will be discussed. Specific actions that can be taken on the part of national, state and local health and housing agencies will be outlined. Finally, the global implications of revising national policy on lead poisoning prevention will be discussed. The case for prioritizing lead poisoning prevention will be made in the context of the other challenges facing global health programs.

Session Objectives: 1. Explain the scientific rationale for recommending a lead poisoning prevention policy based on primary prevention. 2. List three actions that state and local governments can take to prevent childhood lead poisoning. 3. List the most significant environmental exposure sources of lead that impact global health.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)