Low-cost household paint abatement to reduce children's blood lead levels

The purpose was to examine the effectiveness of low-cost abatement on child ren's blood lead levels. Blood lead was analyzed before and after abatement in 37 homes of children under 7 years old with initial blood lead levels o f 25-44 mu g/dL. Ninety-five percent of homes were built before 1950. Abate ment methods used were wet-scraping and repainting deteriorated surfaces an d wrapping window wells with aluminum or vinyl. A control group was retrosp ectively selected. Control children were under 7 years old, had initial blo od lead levels of 25-44 mu g/dL and a follow-up level at least 28 days afte rward, and did not have abatements performed in their homes between blood l ead levels. After abatement, statistically significant declines occurred in the intervention children's blood lead levels. The mean decline was 22%, 1 to 6 months after treatment. After adjustment for seasonality and child's age, the mean decline was 6.0 mu g/dL, or 18%. The control children's blood levels did not decline significantly. There was a mean decline of 0.25 mu g/dL, or 0.39%. After adjustment for seasonality and age, the mean decline for control children was 1.6 mu g/dL, or 1.8%. Low-cost abatement and educa tion are effective short-term interim controls. (C) 1999 Academic Press.