Lead poisoning cutoff lowered

ATLANTA -- For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

The new standard announced yesterday means that hundreds of thousands more youngsters could be diagnosed with high levels of lead. Lead is harmful to developing brains and can mean a lower IQ.

The standard is for children younger than 6. Recent research convinced experts and government officials that young children could be harmed from lead levels in their blood that are lower than the old standard.

Lead poisoning is detected through a blood test. The change means poisoning will be defined as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 10 micrograms.

Under the old standard, lead poisoning in U.S. children had been declining. -- AP