Environmental Lead and Children's Health.

This paper discusses the threat to children's health posed by environmental exposure to lead, focusing on public policy issues surrounding lead exposure in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. In Australia, the current blood lead level at which there is a health concern is at or above 25 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dl) of blood for infants and toddlers, well above the level of 10 ug/dl in the United States. The major sources of environmental lead exposure are leaded petrol emissions, leaded paint, lead in dust or dirt, and lead industries. Leaded petrol is a particular concern in Australia, since it is still used on a widespread basis (unlike in the United States and Canada, where it is virtually banned) and contains higher levels of lead than leaded petrol in Western Europe. Lead exposure's health risks to and effects on young children are examined, and policy proposals advanced by the NSW Department of Health to reduce environmental lead exposure are discussed. The paper calls for: (1) a reduction of lead in petrol; (2) the lowering of the ug/dl blood level of concern; (3) the development of consistent strategies for action when levels of concern are reached; and (4) the reduction of other sources of lead exposure. (MDM)