Gov. John Baldacci’s press conference today about the dangers of lead should be unnecessary. The ill effects of the heavy metal, long outlawed in paint and gasoline, have been known for decades. It has also been known for years that a simple test can detect elevated lead levels in children and adults.

Yet, despite this knowledge and the fact that Maine’s housing stock is older than the national average, the state’s screening rate for lead exposure remains much too low. In 2000, only 13.7 percent of Maine children under 6 were tested for lead. In the last five years, up to 400 children under the age of 6 were diagnosed with lead poisoning annually. As the governor will point out, with such low screening rates, many others were likely missed.

Lead first circulates in the blood, replacing oxygen on the hemoglobin molecule, thereby affecting cell health and growth. It can then build up in the liver, kidneys, bones and other organs. At low levels of lead exposure, children may suffer from headaches, irritability, hyperactivity, lowered IQ and behavioral problems. Higher levels may result in stunted growth, mental retardation, severe brain damage, coma and even death.

All of this is preventable, which is why the governor is holding a lead poisoning awareness press conference in Augusta today. October is National Lead Poisoning Awareness Month.

The first step is to make people aware of the problem. Maine has one of the highest rates of older housing in the country with more than one-third of the state’s home built before 1950. Federal law banned the use of lead paint in residential structures in 1979, but it remains prevalent in older homes. Approximately 60 percent of Maine children with severe lead poisoning appear to have been exposed from unsafe home renovations.

A second key step is to let people know that lead screening tests are readily available, usually free and even required for youngsters enrolled in the federal Medicaid program. Although federal law requires that children enrolled in Medicaid have their blood tested at the ages of 1 and 2, the state estimates that less than 20 percent do.

One reason that Maine’s screening rate is so low is that many doctors believe the test is unnecessary. Another misconception is that if high lead levels are found, the Department of Human Services will remove the child from the home. While an elevated lead level is reported to DHS, the agency is more interested in corrective action than taking a child from their family. DHS staff can make home inspections and require that the home is made safer. But, rather than punishing a family, the agency will refer them to local agencies that can help secure assistance for necessary lead abatement activities. The Maine State Housing Authority has administered roughly $5 million in federal grants for lead removal and abatement projects since 1988. The money the agency receives is not enough to pay for all the work that is requested.

To boost Maine’s screening levels, a state law went into effect that mandates that health care providers test the blood of all Maine children at the age of 1 and 2, unless a pre-screening questionnaire determines the child is at little risk. While well intentioned, the law will be hard to enforce.

Instead, Maine families need to be aware of the risks and to ask that their children be tested.