Clark County Public Health presentation discusses the dangers and health effects of lead

The Clark County Board of Health wants to eventually increase lead testing across the county, especially within low-income communities.

“It’s our role as a Board of Health to identify risks within our community,” county Council Chair Gary Medvigy said during Wednesday’s monthly Board of Health meeting. “Widespread education, widespread testing — that’s our role.”

The Clark County Council, which also serves as the county Board of Health, heard from Public Health officials about the effects of lead and how the county protects against it. Lead is a naturally occurring element that is toxic when it enters the human body.

Public Health’s hazard assessment program, which began in 2009, works in partnership with health providers to identify lead exposure cases, test for lead in the home, and provide education and guidance about prevention.

Bryan DeDoncker, environmental health specialist with the county program, said there is no safe level of lead for the human body.

“Lead is not recognized by the body as a foreign substance. In fact, it actually acts incognito competing with essential minerals like calcium, iron and zinc, making it easily absorbed, especially in people with mineral deficiencies,” DeDoncker said during the meeting. “The importance of lead screening in children cannot be stressed enough.”

Clark County has an average of 20 lead exposure cases per year, and accounts for 3 percent of all cases statewide, DeDoncker said.

Cases of elevated blood-lead levels are identified through health care providers who then report to the Washington State Department of Health. The health department enters these cases into its disease reporting system and assigns Clark County cases to the program for follow-up and investigation.

In 2023, the program acquired a device called an XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analyzer to detect toxic lead on household objects and hidden sources, from paint to soil, and even solid food.

Washington does not currently have state-mandated testing for lead, but federal regulations require that all children enrolled in Medicaid receive a blood-lead test at ages 1 and 2, according to the state health department.

DeDoncker said although the program does not yet have the capacity to test for lead exposure regularly on a countywide level, it can work with identified cases to find the sources of toxic lead and remove it from the home.

“This allows us to not shoot in the dark blindly,” DeDoncker said.

Most lead exposures in children come from lead-based paint and its dust, which is commonly found in homes built before 1978.

Lead exposure can be particularly harmful to children, who are at risk of behavioral and learning problems, hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, anemia, low IQ levels and other learning disabilities if exposed.

Lead exposure can also come from contaminated soil, drinking-water plumbing, certain spices, antiques, ammunition reloading, metal objects, and imported traditional health remedies and cosmetics, according to the health department.

“This is a silent poison. This is why the screening in young children when their brains are still developing is so critical,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Public Health director.

To protect against lead, Public Health recommends having a health care provider test for levels of lead in the blood and keeping children away from peeling paint and plaster, especially within homes built before 1978.

Home drinking water and yard soil should also be evaluated for lead, the agency said.

In March, Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Lead in Cookware Act, which bans the manufacturing and sale of any cookware containing lead or lead compounds at a level of more than 5 parts per million by 2026.