The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District Board received an update on the response plan for elevated lead levels in McLennan County on Wednesday.
In 2016, nearly 16.4 percent of children ages zero to 14 years old who were tested in the 76707 zip code had elevated blood lead levels of five micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood or higher.
Public Health District Spokeswoman Kelly Craine said the county does not get those results. Once a child is tested by a physician, the results go directly to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The city is trying to figure out which neighborhoods in that zip code are the worst so they can help reduce that number.
"Talking with our physicians that are learning about this and are realizing the situation, they're like 'oh yes we want to do something.' We want to help our kids beyond just saying well you'll have to move or just mop more. We want to do really an active intervention that will really make a difference. Not only for that family or that child that is living in that home but after they leave," Craine said.
Craine said the county believes the high lead levels are from paint, not water.
"Our water is the right pH balance and we don't have lead pipes. So that really makes a difference. What we're concerned, what we suspect is that this is homes with paint that paint from 1978 and beyond," Craine said.
Currently, there are no ordinances in the state of Texas about lead, so the county is working to write an ordinance to help reduce the exposure.
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