The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to lower the standard for blood lead toxicity to 5 micrograms per deciliter was based on accumulated evidence that even the lowest levels of lead have devastating effects on the developing nervous systems of young children ("We need a war on lead," May 21). Your well-timed article and editorial on lead prevention comes at the time of year when windows and doors are opened and the opportunity to create lead dust in affected homes increases. Kids are then exposed through ingestion and inhalation of this toxic substance.
No level of lead is safe in children. The implications of lead toxicity for multiple young organ systems demand that solutions in housing be far-reaching and immediate. To do less would be a false economy.
