Lead scare crosses all lines

As Mattel recalls more toys, more parents seek testing for their children.

By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN, Times Staff Writer
Published August 15, 2007

Lisa and Rob Breakiron watch son Noah play in their Waterchase home. In 2006, the couple learned Noah had a lead level of 36, more than seven times normal. He has been treated to purge the metal from his body. A recent test showed a level of 5.7.
	[James Borchuck | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [James Borchuck | Times] Lisa Breakiron holds a keepsake that was recently tested to have a high lead level. it's a baby shoe with a heart attached that was made in China. Breakiron doesn't think this poisoned her son, because it was kept out of his reach as a toddler. She now keeps it in a plastic bag in a closet. [Ken Helle | Times] Cynthia O. Keeton, called the "lead lady," answers questions after her talk Monday on the dangers of lead at a Perfect Start, Early Learning Childcare Center in Tampa. Keeton heads Hillsborough County's childhood lead poisoning prevention department.

TAMPA - Inside a four-bedroom suburban home, Noah Breakiron is fighting to get his life back. Noah, 4, was diagnosed this year with lead poisoning, a problem once thought to afflict mainly those living in older homes or low-income housing.

But with recent toy recalls sparked by hazardous lead in the paint - and Tuesday's announcement of even more toys recalled by Mattel - the scare has reached everywhere from gated communities to day care centers to neighborhood moms' clubs.

In communities like the Breakirons' Waterchase, where kids have their own brightly colored play kitchens, child-sized houses and decked-out train tables, parents and health officials are reacting.

In Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, some pediatric offices are seeing a surge in requests for lead testing in kids. Dr. F. Lane France, medical director for Pediatric Healthcare Alliance, said the group's 12 offices in the three counties are all reporting an increase in lead level screening.

For example, its Northside office in North Tampa normally receives one or two requests a year for lead tests, but since the recalls, they've conducted several dozen, said Dr. Fred Lipschutz, who practices there.

"This is all related to the toy recalls," Lipschutz said.

Risk from lead is "prevalent and it touches everyone. It's just a real wake-up call that we are all at risk," said Cindy Hardy, assistant community health nursing director for the Hillsborough County Health Department.

Earlier this month, Mattel's Fisher-Price division initiated a worldwide recall of 1.5-million Chinese-made preschool toys featuring popular characters from Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street and Go, Diego, Go. More than 967,000 of those toys were sold in the United States between May and August. Tuesday, Mattel added 9-million more Chinese-made toys to the list. Most of those were because of magnets children could swallow, but the recall also includes 253,000 "Sarge" die cast cars with a lead paint hazard.

In Hillsborough County, the head of the childhood lead poisoning prevention department, also known as the "lead lady," sees a positive in the recalls: heightened awareness.

Cynthia O. Keeton said she is receiving about five calls a day from concerned parents asking what to do if they suspect lead exposure. Her phone was ringing off the hook Tuesday after news of the latest recall. She spends her days visiting day care centers and schools, teaching them about washing their hands and not putting toys in their mouths.

Keeton said the county routinely screens more than 5,000 children a year for lead levels as part of its Medicaid program. But with lead having seeped its way across socioeconomic lines, the county is expanding its reach.

In a few months, the department hopes to launch a Lead Mobile to travel around the county so parents can bring toys to be tested for lead.

"It's like a traveling road show," said Hardy, also of the health department. "Bring your toys and household items, and we'll test them for lead."

According to the Florida Department of Health, Hillsborough County had 17 lead poisoning cases in children under 6 in 2005. In Pasco, it was four. In Pinellas, 16. How many children the recalled toys affected remains to be seen.

At the Northside pediatrics office, they draw a child's blood and send it out to a lab. So far, no samples have come back with high levels, Lipschutz said.

Keeton suspects the impact won't start trickling in for a few months, when the crush of test results start getting reported.

Lead is a highly toxic metal that is added to paint as a pigment and also to speed drying and increase durability. It may cause behavioral problems and learning disabilities, seizures and even death. Children 6 and younger are most at risk because their bodies are growing quickly, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The state tracks cases where lead in the system reaches 10 micrograms per deciliter. Keeton said levels below 19 are easily treated through a proper diet. Once it reaches 20, behavioral changes are evident, as well as a decrease in IQ levels.

If left in the system, lead will seep into tissue and bones, as was the case with Noah Breakiron. Keeton is using Noah as the example that upper middle-class families are not immune.

He had lead in his system for a couple of years before it was discovered. His mother, Lisa Breakiron, suspected something was wrong when he threw violent tantrums and could not talk by the time he was 3. Several tests came up negative. A comprehensive test revealed the problem.

The Breakirons do not know the source of the lead poisoning, although they suspect a now-discarded toy. Through chelation therapy, his condition improved dramatically. He sings, dances and acts "like a typical kid."

"Lead does not discriminate," said Breakiron, 36. "It doesn't matter who you are, where you live or the color of your skin."

Dong-Phuong Nguyen can be reached at nguyen@sptimes.com or 813 269-5312.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AND DO IF YOU SUSPECT LEAD POISONING

Symptoms of lead poisoning
Lead poisoning can harm virtually every system in the body, so a child may show a wide range of symptoms. Some children may not show any symptoms until the problem becomes severe. Symptoms, if present, can include fatigue, stomach pains, headache and pain in the hands, feet, muscles or joints. Other effects include developmental delays, speech and language problems, aggression, hyperactivity, delinquency and impulsivity. Extremely high blood lead levels can be fatal.

What happens if you have it
Health care officials prescribe a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and food rich in iron, calcium, zinc and vitamins C and D to flush lead from the system. Children with highly toxic levels undergo chelation therapy, a series of intravenous infusions containing substances that remove the lead.

Sources: Hillsborough County Health Department, Pinellas County Health Department

HOW TO TEST YOUR KIDS AND THEIR TOYS FOR LEAD

Your kids: A doctor or pediatrician's office can help. Some take hair samples, although that practice is not recognized by county health departments, which do finger sticks. Some doctors draw blood from veins.

Their toys: Home improvement stores like Lowe's sell lead testing kits for about $4. The kits contain swabs that detect lead on any surface instantly. To start the test, put approximately four water droplets on the test pad. Rub the item with the wet pad. If the pad turns pinkish to dark purple, dangerous levels of lead are present.

[Last modified August 15, 2007, 01:09:47]