Alameda County Data

How many children in Alameda County are exposed to lead?

According to the 2010 U.S. Census over 100,000 children under the age of five live in Alameda County. Yet only 20,514 children were screened for lead during 2010. Many more need to be screened especially those at risk of lead poisoning. The data below reflects only those children who were tested for lead.

Blood Lead Levels among Children Screened in Alameda County, Age 0-5, by Year

Year	Number of children under 6 screened for lead	Number of children under 6 with blood lead levels 4.5 - 9.4 μg/dL		Number of children under 6 with blood lead levels > 9.5 μg/dL		Total number of lead exposed children
2007	14,663	486	3.3%	129	0.9%	615	4.2%
2008	15,814	379	2.4%	106	0.7%	485	3.1%
2009	16,870	453	2.7%	89	0.5%	542	3.2%
2010*	20,514	440	2.1%	101	0.5%	541	2.6%
Total 4 years	69,635	1758	2.5%	438	0.6%	2183	3.1%

Data Source: Response and Surveillance System for Childhood Lead Exposures (RASSCLE II) from the State of California, Department of Public Health, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch. Data extracted on April 3, 2010.
*Preliminary data from the Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program RASSCLE II

How many homes in Alameda County have lead-based paint?

Lead-based paint is the most common source of lead poisoning. Over 75% of the housing in Alameda County was built before 1978, the year the lead was banned from house paint. In the City of Oakland, 90% of the housing was built before 1978. The older the home, the more likely it is to contain multiple layers of lead-based paint.

Number of Alameda County Housing Units Built before 1978

Year built	# of units
Pre-1940	106,612
1940-1959	139,435
1960-1977	160,432
TOTAL	406,479

Data Source: 2000 Census