Who oversees trends in our area’s public health or has access to track lead levels in children in our area? What are they reporting?
In Washington, there is no comprehensive, universal requirement for blood lead level monitoring. Blood lead level monitoring that does occur is targeted at those with risk factors for exposure.

Blood lead levels are a reportable result that must be provided by all laboratories to the appropriate state agency that tracks the results. The Washington State Department of Health maintains a registry of blood lead levels for children under the age of 15, and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries maintains a similar registry for adults.

The current standard for “blood lead level of concern” for children is those with results greater than 5 micrograms per deciliter. Samples above that level of concern will trigger a follow-up investigation. In Pierce County, the follow up is done by staff from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

The data that is collected from blood lead level samples in Washington often does not include addresses of patients, so it is not currently possible to use this data to evaluate trends within a water system’s service area that might be related to drinking water exposure. Please call 253-841-5505 for more information.

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1. How does lead get into people’s drinking water?
2. How do high levels of lead in the water affect people?
3. What went wrong with the water in Flint, Michigan in 2014 and 2015?
4. How does Puyallup Water help prevent lead from getting into people’s drinking water?
5. What is Puyallup Water’s process for testing for lead and who sets the rules for that?
6. When did Puyallup Water start testing for lead and why?
7. How does Puyallup Water report lead findings to customers?
8. Who regulates our water supply?
9. Are those regulations protective enough?
10. Who oversees trends in our area’s public health or has access to track lead levels in children in our area? What are they reporting?
11. Are there inherent differences between Flint’s water supply and Puyallup’s water supply?
12. If I’m concerned about lead in my water, what can I do?
13. What homes are at high risk of having lead contamination through the pipes?