"even small levels of lead exposure may be damaging"

High doses of lead have for some time been linked to chronic kidney damage. But a recent study out of Johns Hopkins Children's Center found that even small levels of lead exposure may be damaging to children's kidneys.

The report, published January in the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at the records of 769 healthy youth ages 12 to 20 with average blood lead levels of 1.5 micrograms per deciliter (well below the 10 microgram "threshold" of concern per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Researchers found that children with levels of just 2.9 micrograms per deciliters had worse kidney function than those with lower levels. With each doubling of lead levels, the filtration capacity dropped.