The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Thursday showing that the number of children aged 1-5 suffering from lead poisoning has increased this year.
The government estimates that 1 in 38 children suffers from elevated levels of lead in their blood. The government recently lowered the threshold for an amount of lead in the bloodstream that is considered harmful, reports USA Today.
Rebecca Morely, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, said that the CDC funding for lead poisoning awareness and prevention has been drastically cut by Congress.
“To the extent that Americans think this is a problem of the past, clearly this is evidence there is still a problem,” she said.
Lead poisoning can lead to lower IQ, cause behavioral problems and damage internal organs.