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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
Lead poisoning
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Note: Non-consecutive years appear adjacent in the trend line
because one or more years have been deselected.
because one or more years have been deselected.
Why This Indicator Matters
Why it is important
According to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. There is no safe level of lead in a person’s blood. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. The most important step parents, doctors, and others can take is to prevent lead exposure before it occurs. CDC fact sheet on elevated lead levels in children
Maine law implemented in June 2019 requires blood lead tests for all children at 1 and 2 years of age.
The latest federal CDC guidelines reduced the blood reference value (BLRV)—the measure used to determine when interventions are needed—from 5 μg/dL to 3.5 μg/dL as even lower levels are now understood as unsafe.
What the data shows
In Maine, in 2022, 2.1% of Maine children ages birth to 36 months tested for blood lead were found to have a venous blood lead level of 5 µg/dL or higher up from 1.9% the previous year. Since 2003, there has been a steady decrease in the number of children identified with lead poisoning, from 1,194 in 2003, to 586 in 2008, 399 in 2013 to 2021 when there were an estimated 265 children ages birth to age 3 with a blood lead level at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL). In 2022, this number rose slightly to 309, but there also more children screened in 2022 than in 2021. In 2022, 14,460 children ages birth to age 36 months were screened, 853 more children than in 2021.
At a county level, in 2022, the counties with the highest rates of lead poisonings among children ages birth to 36 months who were screened were in the counties of: Piscataquis (6.6%), Lincoln (3.6%) and Waldo, (3.5%). The counties with the lowest rates were Aroostook (1.0%), Penobscot (1.5%), and York (1.6%). Two counties in 2022 had fewer than 6 children with lead poisoning. These were: Franklin, and Sagadahoc.
Towns with high rate of screenings that were positive for lead poisoning from 2018-2022 included: Bingham (11.1%), and Milo (10.1%), Dexter, (9.9%) Cornish (8.8%) and Hallowell (7.6%). Contrary to popular belief, it is not just housing in the most urban areas that present risks.
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According to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. There is no safe level of lead in a person’s blood. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. The most important step parents, doctors, and others can take is to prevent lead exposure before it occurs. CDC fact sheet on elevated lead levels in children
Maine law implemented in June 2019 requires blood lead tests for all children at 1 and 2 years of age.
The latest federal CDC guidelines reduced the blood reference value (BLRV)—the measure used to determine when interventions are needed—from 5 μg/dL to 3.5 μg/dL as even lower levels are now understood as unsafe.
What the data shows
In Maine, in 2022, 2.1% of Maine children ages birth to 36 months tested for blood lead were found to have a venous blood lead level of 5 µg/dL or higher up from 1.9% the previous year. Since 2003, there has been a steady decrease in the number of children identified with lead poisoning, from 1,194 in 2003, to 586 in 2008, 399 in 2013 to 2021 when there were an estimated 265 children ages birth to age 3 with a blood lead level at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL). In 2022, this number rose slightly to 309, but there also more children screened in 2022 than in 2021. In 2022, 14,460 children ages birth to age 36 months were screened, 853 more children than in 2021.
At a county level, in 2022, the counties with the highest rates of lead poisonings among children ages birth to 36 months who were screened were in the counties of: Piscataquis (6.6%), Lincoln (3.6%) and Waldo, (3.5%). The counties with the lowest rates were Aroostook (1.0%), Penobscot (1.5%), and York (1.6%). Two counties in 2022 had fewer than 6 children with lead poisoning. These were: Franklin, and Sagadahoc.
Towns with high rate of screenings that were positive for lead poisoning from 2018-2022 included: Bingham (11.1%), and Milo (10.1%), Dexter, (9.9%) Cornish (8.8%) and Hallowell (7.6%). Contrary to popular belief, it is not just housing in the most urban areas that present risks.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
Children can be given a blood test to measure the level of lead in their blood. If a venous blood lead level is at or above 5 ug/dL it is an elevated blood lead indicative of lead poisoning. The estimated number of children with a blood lead level ≥5 ug/dL is the number with confirmed tests plus 38% of the children with unconfirmed 5-<10 ug/dL tests. The percent of lead poisoning reflects the number of children in the county ages birth to age 36 months with elevated blood lead levels among the number screened.
Notes
The latest federal CDC guidelines reduced the blood reference value (BLRV)—the measure used to determine when interventions are needed—from 5 μg/dL to 3.5 μg/dL as even lower levels are now understood as unsafe, however, the data posted to the Maine Tracking Network through 2022 does not yet incorporate this new lower threshold. FMI see: Federal CDC blood level reference value.
Last Updated
February 2024