SALISBURY — The number of blood lead cases in Rowan County children so far this year is already double the amount for all of 2022. In a span of less than a month, seven were reported. According to Rowan County Health Director Alyssa Harris, there is “no single source” as to why there is an increase in cases. Harris points to coming into contact with house paint, gunpowder, lead-based household materials, or car batteries as explanations for heightened blood levels.

“What we’re seeing is the backlog of child lead cases or child lead testing come to fruition and with Medicaid, it’s more of a requirement than other insurance providers for children to get tested for lead,” Harris said.

In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowered their blood lead reference value from five micrograms per deciliter to 3.5. These values are meant “to identify children with blood lead levels that are higher than most children’s levels.”

“The standards that they’re measuring by dropped. So, now to be positive for lead it’s lower and so you have more people who are going to be positive,” Rowan County Board of Health Chair Dari Caldwell said.

Lead tends to affect younger kids more often because their brains are not as developed as adults. Lead that is ingested replaces the calcium in bones and causes brain and nerve damage.

Back in the spring, during a health inspection, lead from peeling paint was found in a Rowan County elementary school. Lead paint can be covered up for a time, but can eventually crack and be exposed. The state had a specialist come and analyze the lead before their lab officially tested it. The school and parents of the exposed first graders have since been notified. Harris specified that this incident has not resulted in any direct cases, but they will pay attention for any changes.

Rowan County Environmental Health Manager Adrian Pruett says it is up to the school on how to treat lead exposure. They can permanently eradicate it or cover it up further with encapsulation paint. However, UV light breaks encapsulation paint down, so it would need to be continuously monitored.

The Rowan County Health Department have told parents that it is “not mandatory” to test their kids if they have come in contact with lead. They also leave the decision for treatment methods to each family’s doctor.