In May, the Centers for Disease Control updated their blood lead reference value, or BLRV, which is used to identify children with higher levels of lead in their blood.
The CDC decreased the BLRV from 5 to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter and higher and Michigan followed suit. Though medical professionals stress there is no safe level of lead in blood.
The update means more affected children in the state can qualify for services. According to data, more than 34-hundred Michigan children had an elevated blood lead level of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter and higher in 2021. More than half of those children had a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter and higher.
Some of the highest case numbers were found in the state’s larger metro areas.
