26. Pediatric Lead Levels

Protecting children from exposure to lead is a public health priority. There is no safe blood lead level for children. In this episode, Abhishek Gupta, a UConn medical student, interviews Dr. Jennifer Haile, a pediatrician and Medical Director of the Connecticut Children’s Regional Lead Treatment Program, to learn why lead exposure is so dangerous for children and what healthcare providers and caregivers must do to address the problem. In 2023, Connecticut passed a law addressing lead poisoning that included the 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation to lower the actionable blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to 3.5 µg/dL. Dr. Haile has faculty appointments at both the UConn School of Medicine and Connecticut Children’s Pediatric Residency Program.