Lead Poisoning Prevention Data

Protecting children from lead is important for their lifelong good health. Even low levels of blood lead have been shown to affect children’s physical and cognitive development. Fortunately, lead poisoning is entirely preventable.

New York State requires doctors to test all children for lead poisoning at ages 1 and 2. Only a blood test can tell how much lead is in a child’s body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines what follow-up is needed for a child based on the amount of lead found in a child’s blood.

In addition to testing at age 1 and 2, the child's health care provider must complete a lead risk assessment at each well-child visit from birth to age 6 years old and may order additional testing based on the results of that assessment. New York State also requires that all newly arrived refugee children between the ages of 6 months and 16 years be tested upon arrival and 3-6 months after they arrive.

Results shared on this page represent only children tested for lead. Additional information on our programs and services may be found in the Onondaga County Health Department Annual Report and elsewhere on the program's website.

Testing Data

The graphs below shown the number of children tested for lead each year. Some children may have had more than one lead test in a year. In this situation, the highest result collected by venipuncture (blood drawn from the vein) is included in the analysis. If no venipuncture was performed, the highest finger stick result is included. While testing numbers may vary from year to year, Onondaga County consistently performs better than Central New York and New York State as a whole with respect to the percent of children who are screened for lead at the appropriate intervals. More information can be found on the New York State Department of Health website.

Percent of Tested Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels, Onondaga County

Percent of Tested Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels, Syracuse

To better understand the impact of lead exposure in the community, the table below shows a breakdown of children identified with elevated blood lead levels (EBLL) by race and zip code. This indicator shows the percent of children with EBLL in each race category, out of the number of children tested in that race category. For example, in zip code 13202, 4.9% of Black/African American children tested for lead had an EBLL.

Historical Data

Percent Elevated Blood Lead Levels by Race, out of Tested Children:  2020  |  2021