2. Instruction, distribution of information, and prophylactic measures.

The impact of lead on children’s health depends largely on individual behavior. Therefore, we recommend that the following basic hygienic requirements be observed:

- conducting daily cleanings, with water, of residential dwellings, carefully cleaning carpeting with a vacuum cleaner;

- changing footwear (and preferably clothing as well) upon entering a home from outside;

- forbidden children to accept food on the street;

- making sure that children wash their hands after returning from outside and before eating;

- not permitting children into building where repairs are taking place, and so forth.

In order to carry out the aforementioned measures, leaders and specialists at agencies of the Sanitary-Epidemiological Service, children’s polyclinics, and educational establishments must not only understand the gravity of the problem, but must possess corresponding qualifications and necessary experience in dealing with it.

Educational seminars should be held for parents as well. Information regarding the dangers of lead intoxication in children and means for preventing it should be distributed widely in the mass media. With the aim of reducing the threat of lead poisoning in children, we recommend the following:

- avoid iron deficiencies in their diet;

- daily intake of up to one gram of calcium.

In formulating a government order for scientific research, priority should be given to hygienic research aimed at developing measures for preventing lead poisoning.

3. Comprehensive research and monitoring.

In light of the diverse pathways by which lead can penetrate the body, it is necessary to develop a system of constant monitoring, and to conduct regular and comprehensive studies in order to discover children suffering from the danger of lead intoxication. Throughout the world, the widely accepted practice is to simultaneously conduct observations both of the state of the environment and of the lead content in children’s blood, as a primary marker of pollution. The impact of lead on children is highly individual in nature; two children from the same family may have different levels of lead in their blood, depending on the specific details of their behavior.

4. Solutions for urban planning and construction, as well as the recultivation (restoration) of soil and plant cover.

The implementation of a program for decreasing the danger of lead poisoning in children requires the adoption of specific solutions for urban design and construction, and the restoration of the natural environment (above all, the soil) at sites that have been subjected to technogenic disruption.

5. Medical examination and treatment.

At the present time, no truly effective methods exist for treating children suffering from lead poisoning.

Relying on the criteria developed by the World Health Organization, we can assert that among all of the children studied in Kazakhstan, approximately 5.7% (having lead blood levels higher than 25 mcg/dl) require careful medical examination, and some 0.4% (with lead blood levels of over 55 mcg/dl) are in need of immediate treatment.