noylj
12-31-2016, 02:15 PM
Per news from CDC:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering lowering its threshold for elevated childhood blood lead levels by 30 percent, a shift that could help health practitioners identify more children afflicted by the heavy metal.
Since 2012, the CDC, which sets public health standards for exposure to lead, has used a blood lead threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter for children under age 6. While no level of lead exposure is safe for children, those who test at or above that level warrant a public health response, the agency says.
Based on new data from a national health survey, the CDC may lower its reference level to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter in the coming months, according to six people briefed by the agency. The measure will come up for discussion at a CDC meeting January 17 in Atlanta.
But the step, which has been under consideration for months, could prove controversial. One concern: Lowering the threshold could drain sparse resources from the public health response to children who need the most help - those with far higher lead levels.
The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.
Exposure to lead - typically in peeling old paint, tainted water or contaminated soil - can cause cognitive impairment and other irreversible health impacts.
The CDC adjusts its threshold periodically as nationwide average levels drop. The threshold value is meant to identify children whose blood lead levels put them among the 2.5 percent of those with the heaviest exposure.
This means there is NO scientific reason to lower the limit, other than a desire to regulate us to death. Just a random 2.5%. So, as the level goes down, they will continue to lower the limit until someday soon it will be 0.001 micrograms per deciliter, with huge costs to society and absolutely NO health impact.
Why regulatory agencies need to be controlled.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering lowering its threshold for elevated childhood blood lead levels by 30 percent, a shift that could help health practitioners identify more children afflicted by the heavy metal.
Since 2012, the CDC, which sets public health standards for exposure to lead, has used a blood lead threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter for children under age 6. While no level of lead exposure is safe for children, those who test at or above that level warrant a public health response, the agency says.
Based on new data from a national health survey, the CDC may lower its reference level to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter in the coming months, according to six people briefed by the agency. The measure will come up for discussion at a CDC meeting January 17 in Atlanta.
But the step, which has been under consideration for months, could prove controversial. One concern: Lowering the threshold could drain sparse resources from the public health response to children who need the most help - those with far higher lead levels.
The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.
Exposure to lead - typically in peeling old paint, tainted water or contaminated soil - can cause cognitive impairment and other irreversible health impacts.
The CDC adjusts its threshold periodically as nationwide average levels drop. The threshold value is meant to identify children whose blood lead levels put them among the 2.5 percent of those with the heaviest exposure.
This means there is NO scientific reason to lower the limit, other than a desire to regulate us to death. Just a random 2.5%. So, as the level goes down, they will continue to lower the limit until someday soon it will be 0.001 micrograms per deciliter, with huge costs to society and absolutely NO health impact.
Why regulatory agencies need to be controlled.