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New York, NY - Childhood lead poisoning declined by 15 percent last year, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported, reaching the lowest rate ever recorded in New York City.

The 2007 figure - 1,970 poisonings among children 6 months to 6 years of age - is a 90 percent decline since 1995, when nearly 20,000 children were identified with lead poisoning.

Even low levels of lead poisoning can cause learning and behavior problems. Lead-based paint, the primary cause of lead poisoning, has been banned since 1978, but many older buildings still contain the paint.
Ingesting particles of lead-contaminated dust from flaking, peeling or chipped paint - often on doors and windows - is the most common pathway for lead poisoning among young children in the United States.

Childhood lead poisoning occurs throughout New York City but is highest in Brooklyn. While only 34 percent of New York City children age 6 months to less than 6 years live in Brooklyn, 43 percent of children newly identified with lead poisoning last year were Brooklyn residents.

Neighborhoods with the greatest number of cases included Borough Park, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Williamsburg, Bushwick, Greenpoint and East New York.