State Will Test More Children for Lead Poisoning

Half a million California children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years will be tested for lead poisoning under a new state program to be announced today, The Times has learned.

At a news conference in Los Angeles today, Dr. Molly Coye, director of the state Department of Health Services, will announce the program, which will test all children covered by Medi-Cal and other state-funded programs, a department official said. The program will cost $45 million the first year and an estimated $10 million to $20 million a year after that, the official said.

The action is expected to lead to settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and several public interest organizations. The suit asked the state to add Medi-Cal children to its testing program for lead poisoning. Efforts to reach the plaintiffs were unsuccessful.

“We just feel the public health responsibility is so great, we’re going to go ahead, regardless of the lawsuit,” said the department official, who asked not be identified.

“Basically, what happened was, Dr. Coye came in and said, ‘Fine, I agree, we should be testing Medi-Cal kids.’ ”

Coye took over the health agency in June.

The money to pay for expanded testing will come from the federal government, the state tobacco tax and the state general fund.

California’s action comes after new federal standards for maximum safe levels of lead inthe bloodstream were announced this week by Dr. Louis Sullivan, secretary of Health and Human Services--from 25 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to 10 micrograms.

Lead poisoning is a special problem in low-income neighborhoods, where flaking paint from old buildings or lead deposited from leaded gasoline can collect.

Most children will be tested at about 1 year of age, with follow-ups for those who show elevated lead levels in their blood, state officials said.

At present only about 5% of the state’s children under the age of 6 are tested, they said.

Coye’s announcement of the new testing program is expected to accompany a package of lead-poisoning prevention measures to be announced today by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Other efforts to expand testing for lead in children include legislation that is currently on Wilson’s desk. A bill by Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly (D-Sacramento) would require that all children be tested under a program funded by the gasoline, paint and lead-smelting industries.

Health agency officials said there are elements of the Connelly bill that are compatible with the new state program.

Industry lobbyists are urging the governor to veto the bill.