Seattle & King County, Washington

About the program

Seattle & King County received $437,645 through cooperative agreement EH21-2102 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the third funding year. The funds address childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance programmatic activities being conducted from September 30, 2023, to September 29, 2024.

The strategies focus on community-based approaches for lead hazard elimination and emphasize population-based policy intervention.

To learn more about these efforts in Seattle & King County, contact the program below.

Seattle & King County Department of Public Health

Environmental Health Services

401 5th Ave.

Seattle, WA 98104

Phone: 206-263-9566

Success story: funding year 3

A collaborative approach to increasing awareness of childhood lead poisoning in King County, Washington

Challenge

Children in King County are at risk of lead poisoning, particularly those who live or spend time in homes built before the 1978 ban on lead in residential paint, according to the Washington State Department of Health. Data from the Washington Tracking Network indicates that blood lead level testing in children is insufficient in the county, revealing a gap in routine testing practices among healthcare providers and lack of awareness within the community. King County has one of the lowest childhood lead testing rates in the United States, with only 6% of children tested at least once before their sixth birthday. Lack of awareness prevents communities from addressing and mitigating the potential health impacts of lead exposure on children.

Intervention

The Lead and Toxics program funded and strategically collaborated with eight partners deeply rooted in the diverse communities of King County. Partners, including Horn of Africa Services (HOAS), Mother Africa, Somali Health Board (SHB), King County Medical Society (KCMS), Washington Poison Center (WPC), Cultivate South Park, Teniel Sabin Training and Consulting, and Muslimahs Against Abuse Center (MAAC), played a crucial role in increasing community awareness of childhood lead exposure risks and the importance of childhood blood lead testing. From September 2022 to September 2023, these partners were actively involved in creating culturally relevant educational materials; implementing social media campaigns on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and WhatsApp; and providing lead poisoning prevention community workshops and newsletters. The community workshops focused on lead exposure risk and the importance of blood lead testing for children ages six years and younger.

Impact

The collaborative efforts undertaken by the Lead and Toxics Program and dedicated community partners yielded significant results. Messages about lead exposure sources and the importance of blood lead testing were provided in 9 different languages, read over 66,000 times, and commented on, liked, or reposted 3,312 times. KCMS reached more than 300 healthcare providers through its three newsletters. WAPC had more than 130,000 views on its social media posts with over 500 likes, comments, and reposts. Nearly 240 people in total attended lead poisoning prevention workshops hosted by HOAS, MAAC, SHB, Mother Africa, Teniel Sabin Consulting, and Cultivate South Park. Attendees gave positive feedback about the workshops. The partners' collaborative approach will continue to be a successful way to raise awareness about childhood lead poisoning, as well as creating meaningful dialogue in King County communities most at risk for lead exposure.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001432 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Success story: funding year 2

Partnering with community organizations to host product testing events in Seattle & King County

Challenge

Although lead was banned from paint for residential use in 1978, it is still used in consumer products for children, certain foods, traditional medicines, cosmetics, and other products. Aluminum cookware, purchased locally and online, was recently identified as a significant source of lead exposure but the extent of the problem is not well understood. The Seattle & King County Lead and Toxics Program has been engaging with community partners for more than five years to prevent lead exposure. Partners have provided feedback about product safety and prioritized actions, such as product testing. Community partners are frustrated by the lack of information about the safety of the products they use in their homes and the failure of government agencies to enact effective safety measures.

Intervention

From October 2021 through September 2022, the Lead and Toxics Program partnered with 10 community-based organizations (CBOs) to hold 19 events to conduct lead testing on a wide variety of products used in the home. CBOs funded to host events serve Seattle & King County populations at higher risk of childhood lead poisoning, including families with young children who have lower household incomes, refugee and immigrant families, and families living in geographic areas with older homes. CBOs found event locations, recruited participants, provided participation incentives, collected demographic data, interpreted as appropriate, and followed up with families about laboratory test results.

The Seattle & King County Lead and Toxics Program staffed events, provided translated lead education materials, conducted X-ray fluorescence (XRF) testing, collected product samples for laboratory testing, and provided the laboratory results to the CBOs. Items appropriate for XRF testing included cookware, jewelry, pottery, and toys. Items appropriate for laboratory testing included cosmetics, incense, personal care items, and spices. Product testing events had three primary goals:

1. Increase opportunities to learn about current and emerging sources of lead exposure.
2. Encourage childhood blood lead testing when appropriate.
3. Provide product testing information to participating CBOs to inform their efforts to create culturally relevant messaging and intervention strategies.

Impact

A total of 296 households (representing 1,232 individuals and 261 children younger than age 6 years) from 66 Seattle & King County zip codes participated in product testing events and brought items for testing. Languages of participants served included Amharic, Arabic, Dari, English, French, Hindi, Maay Maay, Oromo, Pashto, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Tigrinya, Vietnamese, and Yoruba. Of the 255 households who reported race, the most frequent races were Black/African American (48%), Latinx (20%), and Middle Eastern/North African (15%). These testing events produced the following results:

• 703 items were tested, and 151 (21%) items had high levels of lead.
  • 97 items including pottery, aluminum cookware, and jewelry tested above 90 ppm of lead using XRF.
  • 52 cosmetics/personal care items sent to a laboratory, purchased both inside and outside the U.S., tested above 10 ppm of lead.
  • 3 items sent to a laboratory tested above 2 ppm of lead and included incense from Saudi Arabia and candy from Mexico.
• None of the spices or food items tested at a laboratory had high lead levels.

The Seattle & King County's Lead and Toxics Lead in Products Action Group has relied on the product testing data and evidence to inform their strategies and develop their 2023 Action Plan, including social media strategies to educate community members about sources of lead exposure. The Lead in Products Action Group is a coalition of eight community-based organizations, formed to address lead contamination. This collaborative effort aims to raise awareness, advocate for policy changes, and implement effective strategies to combat lead poisoning in our communities. Product testing data were posted on the Lead and Toxics Program website in January 2023 and shared with other public health professionals. CBOs are planning 18 product testing events for 2023.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001432 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Success story: funding year 1

Partnering to increase blood lead testing in Seattle-King County

Challenge

Blood lead testing rates in King County are very low, and little is known about non-paint sources of lead exposure.

Intervention

The Lead and Toxics Program collaborated with the King County Medical Society and the Washington Poison Center to implement 26 blood lead testing events in King County during the summer of 2019. Events were focused on communities with higher poverty rates, people of color, and housing built before 1978 and were structured either as "Lead Screening, Health, Outreach, and Partnership (LeadSHOP)" or "Days of Testing" events.

• LeadSHOPs were primarily run by Public Health staff and included opportunities for x-ray fluorescence testing of products, blood lead testing, and education. Additionally, participants could sign up for free lead assessment home visits through the Lead Pilot Program.
• "Days of Testing" events were implemented by health clinics. These events were staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses and included opportunities for blood lead testing and education. "Days of Testing" had two primary goals: to increase opportunities for free blood lead testing and build medical clinics' capacity to integrate routine blood lead testing into their clinic systems. Participating medical providers used the media attention generated by the events to amplify messaging on the importance of blood lead testing and developmental services for lead-exposed children through blog posts, local news coverage, and magazine articles.

Impact

There was a 5% increase in blood lead testing in King County in the first four months of 2019 compared with all of 2018. More than 330 children were tested (227 under age 6), over 100 families signed up for free in-home lead assessments, and over 150 products were tested for lead on-site or sent to a lab. At Days of Testing, 9 of the 227 children tested had elevated blood lead levels. At LeadSHOP events, 4 of the 102 children tested had elevated blood lead levels.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001365 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.