Key Points

• More than 3,300 blood lead level tests performed on children (ages 0–17): screening activity has remained stable since 2018

• 244 cases of childhood lead poisoning: figure stable since 2018, with approximately 25 cases reported per year

• Positive rate in initial screening: 12% over the 2015–2019 period

• Decrease in cases of childhood lead poisoning among adopted children (countries of origin at highest risk: Haiti and sub-Saharan Africa) alongside a decline in international adoptions in France

• Concentration of screening activities and cases of childhood lead poisoning in the Rhône department, a pioneer in the fight against lead poisoning in the region

• Respective shares of lead in drinking water and lead-based paint at 44% and 27% among the sources of exposure identified in environmental surveys conducted among lead poisoning cases between 2010 and 2019

• The issue of lead exposure at sport shooting ranges: when screenings are conducted among young people participating in this activity, the prevalence rates are high (around 50%)

• A growing number of lead poisoning cases have been identified among migrant populations since the start of the migration crisis in 2015