Protecting Children From Lead Is An Investment In Their Future

HEALTH WATCH - A child can look well, enjoy a meal and head off to school while an avoidable health risk remains unnoticed. Lead exposure often produces no obvious early symptoms. That is why protecting children requires attention before illness becomes visible.

I am writing to mark National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 25-31, 2026. This is an oportunity to appreciate the people already protecting our communities and remind ourselves that lead exposure remains a concern in everyday settings, not simply a problem of the past.

As a physician, I am trained to diagnose and treat illness. But the public health hat I wear asks an earlier question: How can we keep people from becoming ill in the first place? Prevention is better than cure; and it should not depend on a household’s income.

Recognize the work already underway

Thank you to the federal, state and local agencies, health professionals and community organizations working on lead prevention. The California Department of Public Health updated its childhood lead-screening regulations in August 2026, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) continue their joint awareness efforts.

Schools, water utilities and organizations checking plumbing, testing drinking fountains and addressing hazards also deserve recognition. California’s earlier school-water testing initiative provides a foundation for continued attention to affected fixtures, corrective work and accessible results.

A test is most useful when its findings lead to action. Families should know what was found, what was corrected and where they can obtain current information. Gratitude for existing work and a commitment to strengthen it belong together.

Bring prevention into everyday life

At home, potential sources include deteriorating lead-based paint and dust in older buildings, contaminated soil and some plumbing and household products. Homes built before 1978 deserve particular attention because lead-based paint may still be present.

Families and property owners should periodically review these risks, especially before renovation or when paint deteriorates. A visual check cannot rule out lead. Ask local health officials about appropriate professional assessment. Do not dry-sand suspected lead paint. Damp cleaning can reduce dust, but it does not replace correcting the source. Renters need a practical route to assistance, not sole responsibility for a building they do not control.

For drinking water, ask the utility about plumbing risks and appropriate tap testing. Lead cannot be detected by appearance, taste or smell, and boiling does not remove it. Use cold water for drinking and cooking; where filtration is advised, choose a filter certified to reduce lead and replace cartridges as directed.

Cooking pots and dishes deserve attention, too. The FDA has warned about certain imported aluminum and brass cookware that can leach lead into food, including products sold in California. It also identifies antique, damaged and excessively worn ceramicware as potential concerns.

This does not mean every used pot is unsafe or every new one is safe. The relevant questions concern the product, its materials, condition and any safety warning, not simply whether it was bought secondhand. Check FDA alerts and seek advice when a product’s suitability for food use is uncertain.

Make safer choices affordable

Consider a household relying on donated cookware because replacing essential items would compete with groceries or rent. Telling that family to discard a hazardous pot is incomplete without helping it obtain a suitable replacement. Safety advice should come with practical support.

Donors, philanthropists and businesses seeking a tangible community contribution could fund new, durable cookware and food-contact materials with verifiable safety information. Community organizations should select products with public health guidance, check recalls and arrange distribution that respects recipients’ dignity. The priority should be demonstrated safety and usefulness, not a premium brand name.

The FDA explicitly advises against donating or refurbishing cookware covered by its lead warning. Generosity should remove a hazard, not transfer it to another household.

Support could also fund certified water filters and replacement cartridges, qualified home assessments, hazard-removal work and transportation to appointments. Philanthropy should complement public programs and responsible property maintenance, not replace them.

A useful measure of success would be whether unsafe items were replaced and families received appropriate follow-up, not simply how many donations were collected.

Act early without waiting for symptoms

Most exposed children do not look sick. Abdominal pain, constipation or poor appetite can occur, but these symptoms overlap with other conditions. Discuss suspected exposure promptly with a clinician, even when a child seems well. A blood lead test is the best way to assess exposure; symptoms alone cannot diagnose it. Seizures or reduced consciousness require emergency care.

No safe blood lead level has been identified in children. Exposure can affect learning, attention and development. Early detection can help identify and remove the source and connect a child with follow-up care and developmental support. It cannot guarantee that harm already caused will be reversed. Parents can ask at well-child visits whether recommended screening has been completed.

Health plans, clinics and local prevention programs should help families understand which tests and follow-up services are covered. Uninsured residents should be connected with available assistance. Identifying a risk should begin a pathway to help, not leave a family with another worry it cannot afford to address.

Schools can include or reinforce age-appropriate lead-prevention lessons in health and science classes. EPA already provides lead-awareness teaching resources, including children’s activities, that educators and community partners can adapt. Families could receive take-home information in relevant languages and a local contact for help. Children can learn protective habits, but responsibility for safe buildings and products must remain with adults and institutions.

Health is a human right. Protecting that right includes attention to safe housing, drinking water and the everyday environments in which children grow. A family’s income should not determine whether it can act on a health warning.

Let this week be both a thank-you and a renewed commitment. By supporting the people already doing this work and making prevention practical, California can help create safer places for our children, grandchildren and generations to come.

(Taiwo Opeyemi Aremu, MD, MPH, MS, PhD, is a physician, public health expert, health economics and outcomes researcher, and assistant professor at Touro University California. The views expressed are his own.)