April 4, 2014 | HealthDay
There has been a big drop in the number of American children with elevated blood lead levels over the past four decades, but about 2.6 percent of children aged 1 to 5 years still have too much lead in their systems, federal officials reported Thursday.
An estimated 535,000 children in that age group had blood lead levels at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) in 2007 to 2010, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
A lead level at or above 5 mcg/dL is considered “a level of concern” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This level was adopted by the CDC in 2012…