© 2024 WNMU-FM
Upper Great Lakes News, Music, and Arts & Culture
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lead concentrations in Flint children's blood found to be lower

Time Magazine

FLINT, MI (MPRN)--   Blood lead levels in Flint children are declining, according to a new study.

The study in The Journal of Pediatrics finds blood lead levels in Flint children were nearly three times higher in 2006 than in samples taken in 2016.

Researchers from the University of Michigan and the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School analyzed lead concentrations of more than 15,000 blood samples of Flint children five years old and younger. 

The study finds the percentage of Flint children with blood lead levels over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public action standard dropped from 11.8% in 2006 to 3.2% in 2016.

Researchers say the data suggest “long term public health efforts to reduce lead exposure in the community have been largely effective.”

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Radio since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting. During his two and a half decades in broadcasting, Steve has won numerous awards, including accolades from the Associated Press and Radio and Television News Directors Association. Away from the broadcast booth, Steve is an avid reader and movie fanatic. Q&A