Childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance of blood lead levels in childrenwith funding from the centers for disease control and prevention awarded in 1996, the environmental epidemiology…

Childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance of blood lead levels in childrenwith funding from the centers for disease control and prevention awarded in 1996, the environmental epidemiology program (EEP) developed a surveillance system for elevated blood lead levels (EBLL) in children and has continued to collect and analyze blood lead results on children to this day. The EEP, local health departments, and other utah agencies and programs continue to collaborate to reduce and eliminate lead exposure to utah?S children. The EEP objectives include: 1) enhance and maintain an active, ongoing statewide surveillance system for children with elevated blood lead levels, 2) ensure that laboratory-based surveillance of child blood lead levels is complete by collecting data on all blood lead testing of utah residents, 3) ensure that children with an EBLL receive appropriate medical follow-up, 4) arrange for case management and environmental investigations of lead exposure, 5) identify exposure patterns and high-risk populations within the state, 6) provide appropriate prevention intervention as needs are identified, 7) provide education to identified at-risk populations, and 8) enhance the collaborative efforts between public agencies and private health care providers to prevent lead poisoning in young children. In utah, the prevalence rate of children 0-5 years old, with an elevated blood lead level (? 10 ?G/DL) was 0.2 % during 2019, a decrease from 4.0 % in 1996. In 2017, the utah department of health lowered the blood lead level of concern to ? 5.0 ?G/DL to be consistent with CDC?S guidelines. The number of children with elevated blood lead, based on the new level of concern was 1.3% in 2018 and 0.8% in 2019. Lead-based paint, past mining activities, and other non-traditional lead exposures have been identified as the routes of lead exposure to children in utah. Although the rates have been declining there are areas within the state that have H IGH-risk minority populations, especially in the more populated areas. Of the 299,566 children, ages 0-5 years, living in utah, 39,842(13.3%) live in poverty conditions. Particularly, minority groups occupy housing that is less expensive, older, and in closer proximity to industrial or hazardous waste sites. There are an estimated 768,594 housing units in utah and of those, IT is estimated 11.1% were built before 1950 and 42.2% were built before 1980. Some of these communities are in health disparity or environmental justice neighborhoods with little resources to renovate or maintain those homes. The EEP, with the assistance from the CDC, will improve and enhance the surveillance for lead poisoning, identify high-risk communities and populations and encourage screening of these high-risk populations. The increase in surveillance is critical to monitor incidence trends and to develop appropriate screening and intervention strategies for children residing in utah. The EEP will increase activities in public health education and primary prevention. The data obtained through the surveillance activities and the timely analyses and reporting will be performed and shared with federal, state, and local public health officials, health care providers, and housing authorities to assist the efforts to reduce and eliminate childhood lead poisoning in utah.