Five children in a northeastern Ohio Village, whose drinking water was discovered to have high levels of lead, were found to have elevated levels of the toxic metal, health officials said on Wednesday.
However, it is still too early to know if the positive tests are indeed linked to tap water in Sebring or if they could have come from other sources such as lead paint.
Lead is a toxicant that is particularly harmful to young children. Exposure to this element is estimated to cause 600,000 cases of children developing intellectual disabilities and 143,000 deaths every year, according the World Health Organization.
While lead exposure often occurs in developing regions, Americans have had their own share of lead exposure. For instance, Flint, Mich. currently faces a lead-laced water crisis, and Sebring could potentially become the next Flint.
Residents living in Sebring and in two other communities were informed last week that high levels of lead were found in their drinking water last summer. The announcement caused a stir since months have passed before the residents were informed about the tainted water.
While latest tests have shown that the lead levels have gone down, some places still have levels above federal guidelines.
Ohio Health Department Director Richard Hodges said that investigators have already been sent to meet the children and their families to find out if the water is indeed the cause of high lead levels.
"Almost all lead cases are usually linked to sources other than water," Hodges said. "We can't discount the fact the water may be playing a role."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a threshold for children to be considered to have been exposed to lead, albeit many health experts say that no amount of the toxicant is ever safe for the young.
"Experts now use a reference level of 5 micrograms per deciliter to identify children with blood lead levels that are much higher than most children's levels," CDC said. "This new level is based on the U.S. population of children ages 1-5 years who are in the highest 2.5 percent of children when tested for lead in their blood."
Three of the five children who were found to have lead levels above the threshold of the CDC live on the same street. They were tested on Sunday following reports of lead-tainted water surface.
