By Nicole C. Brambila, Reading Eagle
Published: Wednesday May 10, 2017
Pennsylvania has among the nation’s largest percentage of children with high blood lead levels, according to a recently-published study in the Journal of Pediatrics.
With roughly 8 percent of the state’s children having lead-to-blood concentrations of 5 micrograms per deciliter, Pennsylvania is second only to Minnesota, where 10 percent of kids there have such levels.
The rate for children in the Reading area – which includes Laureldale where an idled battery plant is located – is more than twice the state rate at 16.8 percent with blood lead concentrations of 5 micrograms per deciliter.
The six-year study examined 5.2 million blood lead test results in children under 6 years of age and is believed to the be the largest analysis of its kind in the U.S.
To read more, go to http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/pennsylvania-ranks-near-top-of-states-with-kids-with-high-levels-of-lead#.WSWLeuvysdU.
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