Most often, it is adults in high-risk exposure occupations who have high blood lead levels: workers in lead foundries, ammunition plants, construction sites and shipyards, Weiss said. AFP / Mandel Ngan (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) MANDEL NGAN/AFP/AFP/Getty Imagesįor gunshot survivors, recovery can last a lifetime TOPSHOT - Police stand behind a crime scene tape near the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub on in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016.Ī somber President Barack Obama expressed grief and outrage at the 'horrific massacre' of 50 late-night revelers at an Orlando gay club, branding it an act of terror and hate. Those with bullet fragments in their bodies were predominantly males between the ages of 16 and 24. The maximum recorded bullet-related level was 306 micrograms per deciliter. However, among 349 people with very high blood lead levels – equal to or greater than 80 micrograms per deciliter – 17, or 4.9%, were people with bullet fragments. Only 0.3% of the high blood-lead level cases in the study were people with bullet fragments. “Current evidence shows that lead exposure even at very low levels – and we’re talking about (blood lead levels) around 5 micrograms per deciliter and lower – have been associated with decreased renal (kidney) function,” Weiss said.Īt the 10-microgram mark, an adult may experience an increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) and a tremor, she added. (AP Photo/Brian Jackson - Chicago Sun-Times) Brian Jackson/APĪre gunshot victims in Chicago area under-treated? Authorities say four people have been shot, one fatally by Chicago Police, in gunfire on the city's South Side. Today’s standard is 5 micrograms per deciliter.Ī man is taken to a waiting ambulance from inside of the Best Buy Meats & Groceries store after being shot at 71st & Paxton Wednesday May 6, 2009. Then, a short narrative describing the source of the lead poisoning is added to the system report.Įxamining the data from 2003 through 2012, Weiss and her fellow researchers discovered reports of 145,811 people in 41 states with blood lead levels greater than or equal to 10 micrograms per deciliter, the standard for an elevated blood lead level during that time period. High-level reports are followed up by the state, which contacts the lab, healthcare providers and sometimes even the patient to determine where the lead exposure occurred. Most of the reports in this system are occupational in nature, but some are tests run by doctors who suspect their patients have lead toxicity. Weiss and her colleagues analyzed data reported to the CDC’s Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance program, which requires blood lead level test results to be reported to state health departments. No one knows exactly how many people might have elevated blood lead levels due to retained bullet fragments. She added that exposure to lead can have both short- and long-term effects, ranging from a small change in organ function to symptomatic life-threatening toxicity.Īn estimated 115,000 firearm injuries happen every year in the United States, and the majority – 70% – are not fatal, “meaning that the bullet is possibly retained,” Weiss said. “There are no safe levels of lead in the human body,” said Debora Weiss, lead author of the report and an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the CDC. However, for those with the highest blood lead levels, nearly 5% of cases could be linked to bullets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that, overall, fewer than 1% of cases of adults with elevated blood lead levels were caused by retained bullet fragments. Yet bullet fragments that remain lodged in the body can be an important cause of lead poisoning, according to a government report published online Thursday. In the United States, routine screening for lead poisoning in adults is focused on jobs in which exposure to lead is likely.

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