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Alameda County, CA, acgov.org

Larry Brooks
Director
Healthy Homes Department
Including the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

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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 23,617 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 under 21 Years Old Screened in Alameda County, by Year

Year Number of children screened for lead Number of children with blood lead levels 4.5 - 9.4 μg/dL Number of children with blood lead levels > 9.5 μg/dL Total number of lead exposed children
2007 16,448 651 4.0% 301 1.8% 745 4.5%
2008 17,502 489 2.8% 223 1.3% 558 3.2%
2009 18,363 561 3.1% 168 0.9% 651 3.5%
2010 22,701 386 1.70% 54 0.24% 466 2.05%
2011 21,454 391 1.82% 72 0.34% 463 2.16%
2012 19,452 388 1.99% 84 0.43% 607 3.12%
2013 20,150 357 1.77% 66 0.33% 527 2.62%
2014 19,157 362 1.89% 75 0.39% 437 2.28%
2015 18,954 396 2.09% 66 0.35% 462 2.44%
2016 18,913 380 2.01% 74 0.39% 454 2.40%
2017 19,718 325 1.65% 94 0.48% 419 2.12%
2018 18,694 356 1.90% 77 0.41% 433 2.32%
2019 19,091 278 1.46% 88 0.46% 366 1.92%
2020 13,299 198 1.49% 771 0.53% 269 2.02%

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.

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 118,411
1940-1959 121,340
1960-1977 157,621
TOTAL 397,372

Data Source: 2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates


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