A prick of the fingertip is a rite of passage for most New York children. During their first six years of life, state law mandates that their blood must be regularly screened for lead exposure.
Widely used in paint, plumbing and gasoline in centuries past, lead is a neurotoxin that can cause irreversible learning impairments and behavioral problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that no amount of exposure is safe. But one of the lingering debates within public health circles has asked what level should merit a response from a pediatrician or a health department.
In 2019, the City Council passed legislation requiring the city’s health department to follow any changes in what the CDC calls its “blood lead reference value” — essentially an indicator for when local health departments should intervene to provide treatment and cut off the source of exposure. That shift came in October, when the CDC lowered its reference value from 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood to 3.5 micrograms.
But New York City officials did not immediately adopt the new guidance, despite the legal requirement from the City Council. After nearly five months of public pressure by public health advocates, the New York City Health Department moved to adopt the CDC’s new reference level of 3.5 micrograms, according to a department spokesperson.
Any test results at or above that level will now automatically trigger an investigation by the department. According to data obtained by Gothamist via a Freedom Of Information Law request, the shift in policy means hundreds of additional children will now be eligible for city-funded services each year, amounting to a 50% increase in the city’s annual caseloads.
The city’s adoption of the new lead rules is a move that many public health advocates said they were concerned wouldn’t happen, at least anytime soon. Last month, a coalition of 10 advocates and organizations petitioned the city’s Board of Health to adopt the new standard.
WNYC editor Christopher Werth spoke with host Michael Hill about breaking the news on the health department's pivot and what it could mean for parents. Click listen in the player, and visit Gothamist for more details on the story.
