There are no safe lead levels in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since 1991 the agency has specified that levels higher than 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood are dangerous. Now the CDC has updated its guidelines in the wake of a new study that found that babies and young children with levels lower than 7.5 had below-average IQs. http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/lead_danger.xml

Research has found that children with levels higher than 2 mcg/dL are four times more likely to have ADHD, and experts believe that lead interferes with the body's production of the neurotransmitters in the brain that are essential for impulse control. "Kids who are already genetically predisposed to ADHD are at the greatest risk," says Parents advisor Judith Owens, MD, director of the Learning, Attention, and Behavior Clinic at Rhode Island Hospital, in Providence. "Lead probably acts as a trigger in these children." http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?catref=cat1890038&page=3&storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/1186504265235.xml

Babies and toddlers are the most vulnerable because their brains are still developing and they absorb up to 50 percent of ingested lead (adults absorb only about 10 percent). Of course, they also spend lots of time crawling on the floor and putting their hands in their mouth, and because lead tastes sweet, leaded items can be irresistible.

Even unborn babies are at risk. A pregnant woman who has lead in her system is at increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and preterm labor. But unless the exposure was recent, blood tests won't detect the toxin because lead eventually leaves the bloodstream and settles in bones. "If a woman with prior lead exposure doesn't get enough calcium in her diet, her body will pull the mineral from her bones to help her baby grow -- but lead comes with the calcium," says Michael Shannon, MD, chair of the AAP Committee on Environmental Health. Ask your obstetrician to give you the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lead risk-assessment questionnaire; if you're found to be at high risk, eating a diet high in calcium can help protect you and your baby. http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?catref=cat1890038&page=2&storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/1186504265235.xml

More lead information at Parents.com http://www.parents.com//parents/search/results.jsp?searchType=content&searchString=lead