Study Shows up to 38% of Childhood Lead Poisoning Cases are Linked to Consumer Products in Four Key US Regions/Areas

Researchers call for a national tracking database and intervention in countries where the lead contamination originates.

• First-of-its-kind study examines sources of lead poisoning in 2,000 cases across New York City, King County, Washington, California and Oregon. 
• Researchers found that consumer products (e.g., spices, cosmetics, metal cookware, and ceramics) were a source of lead exposure in 15 to 38% of lead poisoning cases.
• Authors call for a national database of consumer products associated with lead poisoning cases; urge stakeholders to work together to prevent contamination at its source.

NEW YORK, NY, July 17, 2024 – New research “A Snapshot of Lead in Consumer Products Across Four U.S. Jurisdictions” just published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that up to 38% of childhood lead poisoning cases across four United States jurisdictions are associated with exposures to consumer products, including imports. The authors, a team of researchers from Pure Earth and local health authorities in the United States, issued an urgent call to establish a national tracking database to identify lead-containing consumer products that are associated with elevated blood lead levels in the US that can inform interventions in countries where the contamination originates.

“We’ve long known about the risk of lead exposures from traditional sources like paint and pipes,” says Kate Porterfield, lead author of the study and Special Projects Lead with Pure Earth. “But our research expands on this story. Imported consumer products, from spices to ceramics, are also contributing to blood lead levels above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5 ug/dL in the United States.”

Conducted across four jurisdictions in California, Oregon, New York City, and King County, Washington, the study analyzed data from over 2,000 home investigations from 2010-2021. In this study, 15% to nearly 40% of the home investigations resulted in consumer products being identified as a potential source of lead exposure.

“This study is a wake-up call,” asserts Richard Fuller, President of Pure Earth. “We need to expand our focus beyond lead in paint and pipe to better protect children from harm. Our findings show that imported consumer products are also an under appreciated source of lead exposures. It’s time to take decisive action.”

Broader Implications 

The implications of the study’s findings extend far beyond the United States. Lead-containing consumer products, which include certain spices, cosmetics, ceramics, metal cookware, traditional health remedies and cultural powders, are mostly manufactured in low- and middle-income countries. By uncovering the global origins of these tainted products, the researchers emphasize the urgent need for international cooperation in addressing the lead poisoning crisis.

“The connection between local and global is undeniable,” says Paromita Hore, Director of Environmental Exposure Assessment and Education in New York City Health Department. “What starts as a home investigation in Queens could lead us to a marketplace in Dhaka. It’s time for a coordinated effort to tackle this issue at its source.“

According to Katie Fellows, a co-author of the study and Environmental Scientist with the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington and Public Health – Seattle & King County, an important takeaway of the study is the disproportionate burden lead poisoning places on disadvantaged populations.

“This paper shows how products that are readily available to consumers are an under-appreciated source of lead exposure.” Fellows explains, “Communities of color, immigrants and refugees in the United States are at increased risk for lead poisoning, so addressing the presence of lead in these products is essential to maintaining healthy and thriving communities.” 

“The inequitable distribution of lead hazards affects millions of children in disadvantaged communities,” observes Shakoora Gaylon, Senior Director of the Toxic Exposures and Pollution Prevention Program at the Center for Environmental Health, an organization based in California. “Efforts by manufacturers, importers, and governments to identify and respond to high-risk populations can help eliminate lead exposure as a public health problem.”

 Study Details and Data

The study is the first of its kind to compile lead poisoning home investigation data from four separate U.S. jurisdictions, and examine the extent to which consumer products contribute to elevated blood lead levels in children. 

While lead-containing spices, ceramics, and other products were associated with elevated blood lead levels in all four jurisdictions, the extent to which consumer products were associated varied across jurisdictions. 

The bullet points below represent data from 2019, which was the only overlapping year for which data was available for all the jurisdictions.

• In California, consumer products were identified as the only source of lead exposure for up to 25.8% of these 360 investigations. 
• In Oregon, consumer products were identified as the only source of lead exposure during 16.7% of the 180 home investigations – again revealing a comparable proportion to the housing related sources.
  
• In New York City, of the 1,462 home investigations, sources related to lead-based paint were identified as a source of exposure in 64.2% of the investigations. Consumer products were identified as a potential source of lead exposure for 15.5% of those investigations.
  
• In King County, Washington, of the 42 investigations, potential housing-related sources of lead exposure were identified in 61.9% of the cases, and consumer products related lead exposures were identified during 38.1% of the investigations. 

The authors highlight the difficulty in ascribing a single lead exposure source to elevated blood lead levels, adding that children may face a combination of lead sources, including housing-related sources and contaminated consumer products. 

What’s more, while this study looked at data from the general population, the authors note certain immigrant communities are likely at an increased risk of exposure to consumer products that contain high levels of lead.  “If investigations were focused within high-risk populations, especially those individuals from immigrant and refugee communities,” reads the paper, “The incidence of consumer products related lead exposures would likely be much higher.”

The Path Forward: a global approach to reducing lead poisoning in the United States 

In the United States, an estimated 2.5% of children ages 1 to 5 suffer from lead poisoning (defined as having blood lead levels above CDC’s BLRV of 3.5 μg/dL). That’s 590,000 American children. The parity of impact between housing-related and consumer product-related sources across these 4 jurisdictions highlights the critical need for evidence-based interventions that address the multifaceted nature of lead poisoning. 

While the study underscores the gravity of the situation, it also offers hope for effective intervention. Systematically tracked surveillance data on consumer products collected by U.S. jurisdictions during lead-poisoning investigations would elucidate which products and countries to focus resources towards. By advocating for a national product surveillance database and implementing targeted prevention strategies, the researchers aim to curb the tide of elevated blood lead levels associated with use of lead-containing products, easing the disparities in lead exposure and safeguarding the health of future generations. Crucial to this effort is collaboration across borders, as well as between the public and private sector. 

It is vital that effective policies be developed that include effective enforcement.

It is also important to target the source of these products in their countries of origin. by collaborating directly with national and local authorities in the countries where the lead-containing consumer products originate – focusing resources on primary prevention. 

The first step, according to the authors, is to identify and rank those products most responsible. To do this, they call for the creation of a publicly accessible “centralized national data collection system,” modeled after a similar initiative pioneered in New York City. 

“The New York City Health Department systematically catalogs information related to consumer products collected and tested during lead poisoning investigations,” explain the authors, “Such a repository of consumer products surveillance data collected by various jurisdictions during lead-poisoning investigations would help to identify a broader range of lead-containing consumer products impacting vulnerable communities in the US.” 

  In 2020, The Toxic Truth report from UNICEF and Pure Earth revealed that around 1 in 3 children – up to 800 million globally – have blood lead levels at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL), the level at which requires action. Nearly half of these children live in South Asia.

This database could be used by U.S. agencies working overseas, like USAID and USEPA, as well as NGOs, to guide interventions in low and middle-income countries. Illustrating the potential broad impacts of such a system, the study points to a landmark intervention in the Republic of Georgia, where Pure Earth, UNICEF, and others collaborated with Georgian government authorities to end the adulteration of spices with lead in this country. Within two years, lead was almost completely eliminated from the Georgian spice market. 

As described in the 2023 UNICEF report, “The numerous alerts from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City played an important role in catalyzing the Government of Georgia to implement regulatory action in 2018 to prevent the sale of adulterated spices.”  The NYC Health Department, which identified elevated lead levels in spices from Georgia triggering the Department to send reports to Georgian authorities between 2011-2017, is now seeing  declines in the percentage of spice samples from Georgia with detectable lead. In addition, the NYC Health Department is also seeing a significant decline in the rate of children with BLLs at or above 5 µg/dL among NYC children with Georgian ancestry. This reinforces the notion that addressing lead exposure sources at the countries of origin can have worldwide impact. 

Highlighting the importance of incorporating consumer product surveillance into lead poisoning prevention strategies, the researchers conclude with an urgent call for action: 

“Time is of essence and the groundwork for this repository must be implemented federally to make this process standardized and effective. In addition to putting in efforts towards reducing housing related lead sources, actions must be taken to prevent further exposures from lead containing consumer products.”

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About Pure Earth

Established in 1999, Pure Earth is a pioneer in developing evidence-based solutions to mercury and lead poisoning and pollution.  Guided by our commitment to transparency, collaboration, impact measurement and technical excellence, Pure Earth works with partners around the world to sustainably address the root causes of lead pollution and mercury pollution.

We prioritize actions to protect the developing brains and bodies of children and pregnant women living in toxic hot spots. We work to stop the multigenerational cycle of poisoning that is endemic in many low and middle-income countries.  Pure Earth partners with governments, communities and industry to identify and implement solutions that stop toxic exposures, protect health, and restore environments. Learn more at  www.pureearth.org.

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