Plumbing suspected
in lead exposureThe state calls for all
children to be tested
in Upcountry Maui
WAILUKU >> The state health administrator on Maui is encouraging Valley Isle residents living in Upcountry regions to have their children tested for lead.
Dr. Lorrin Pang said the state's maternal child health section had been encouraging pediatricians to test children for lead ever since a 1997 test found a higher-than-normal percentage of children living Upcountry to have higher-than-acceptable levels of lead.
Pang said he recently found testing by pediatricians has been low on the neighbor islands, and he decided to step up the testing by issuing the advisory for Maui.
He said test data based on the study showed that only 2.2 percent of young children living in central Maui had elevated levels of lead in their blood, while 6.7 percent of the same-aged children in the Upcountry area had high levels of lead.
The Upcountry testing included 149 children in Kula, Makawao, parts of Haiku, Haliimaile and Pukalani.
The results found 10 with higher-than-acceptable levels -- 10 or more micrograms of lead per 100 milliliters of blood, he said.
Pang said the Upcountry area had an estimated 2,300 children aged 6 months to 6 years old.
He said the primary source of lead appears to be the water in homes that have lead-solder plumbing.
Lead-solder plumbing was banned in 1986 and taken off the market by 1988, he said.
Pang said based on a test sampling of homes, an estimated 5 percent to 15 percent of the 9,000 Upcountry homes could have lead levels in the water exceeding federal action standards.
He said the water Upcountry tends to be acidic and leaches the lead from the pipes, compared to less-acidic water used in central Maui.
County water officials have been putting food-grade phosphoric acid in Upcountry water in an attempt to reduce the leaching that occurs in plumbing fixtures.
Pang said he expects that residents living Upcountry who have health insurance will be reimbursed for the cost of the lead test because lead poisoning poses a risk to them.
Pang said to reduce the chances of lead solder in the water, residents could flush their pipes before drinking or drink bottled water.
He said there are also kits for testing the lead content in water.
Other potential sources of lead include paint from old homes and ceramics from foreign countries that contain lead.
High levels of lead can cause serious health problems to a child's nervous system and mental development, health officials said.
Children with elevated levels of lead may be treated with medication.