New Lead Danger Level Set for U.S. Children : Health: Revised standard reduces the tolerable amount in the blood to less than half of previous limit.

Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan on Monday announced a new and lower danger level for lead in the blood of young children--less than half of what was previously thought to be safe.

“Lead poisoning is not to be taken lightly,” Sullivan said at a conference on childhood lead poisoning. “It is the No. 1 environmental threat to the health of children in the United States.”

Under the new standard, a child will be considered endangered when lead levels register 10 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood. The new level, recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, replaces the level of 25 micrograms set by the CDC in 1985.

A child with 10 micrograms per deciliter would have, in his entire body, an amount of lead equal to a grain of sand, according to CDC experts.

An estimated 250,000 children under the age of 6 are believed to have levels of lead in their blood greater than 25 micrograms per deciliter, according to federal health officials. Under the new standards, the number of children considered at some risk could grow to an estimated 3 million to 4 million, they said.

“We need to identify and treat youngsters with high blood lead levels, and we need to keep working in our communities to control childhood lead levels,” Sullivan said.

Lead, which affects virtually every system in the body, is particularly harmful to a developing brain and nervous system. Lead exposure can be especially devastating to a fetus and to young children, causing learning disabilities, deficits in IQ and behavioral problems.

The CDC said that even lead levels as low as 10 micrograms can have subtle effects, causing developmental delays and reduced stature.

Lead is found in lead-based paint, which was banned in 1978 but can still be found in an estimated 57 million homes in the United States, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It can also be found in soil, dust and, because of corrosion of lead pipes and other fixtures, in water.

“Lead poisoning is widespread,” the CDC said in a statement. “It is not solely a problem of inner city or minority children. No socioeconomic group, geographic area or racial or ethnic population is spared.”

The Bush Administration proposed different types of action depending on the amounts of lead in the blood of exposed children, with the highest priority given to children with the greatest levels.

Lawmakers, environmental organizations and children’s groups praised the new guidelines but criticized the Administration for failing to back legislation and additional federal spending that they said could reduce the problem.

The Administration, which released a comprehensive lead strategy last February, estimated that its plan would cost nearly $1 billion during the next five years but proposed spending only $50 million in federal funds in fiscal 1992. Administration officials have said that the major burden for lead-screening and abatement programs should be carried by states, cities, parents and the private sector.

“(Monday’s) announcement should concern every parent of a young child in the country,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health. “But the urgent question raised by the new standard is: What are we going to do to help the millions of lead-poisoned children? Unfortunately, the answer from the Administration is: not much.”

Waxman has authored legislation opposed by the Administration that would require homes and apartments to be tested for lead-based paint hazards before they are sold or leased. Other pending measures would provide funds to control hazards from deteriorating lead-based paint in low-income housing and day-care centers, often the most common source of moderate and high lead exposures for children.

“The need for (the) bills is particularly urgent,” said Karen Florini, a senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund. She said that the new federal guidelines “mark a decisive turning point in the battle against lead poisoning” but that “they don’t solve it.”

Federal health officials recommended a “phase-in” screening of all children, except in communities where large numbers of children have already been screened and found not to have lead poisoning.

The department said that children with blood lead levels of 20 micrograms or more should be medically evaluated and the source of lead exposure located and removed.

Staff writer Alan C. Miller contributed to this story.