LEAD POISONING'S WEIGHTY DEBATE INTELLIGENCE OF CHILDREN IS INVALUABLE.(PERSPECTIVE)

Byline: DR. RALPH E. DITTMAN

Lead poisoning of a child is one of those nightmares every parent dreads. That dread turned to true fear the day I discovered a fine white powder covering my 2-year-old's play table.

The table was located directly below a metal air vent in our 25-year-old house. Even though I had meticulously inspected for signs of lead paint before we moved in, I hadn't looked up in the metal ducts.

And now, here it was. Condensation in the air blower was causing this powder to blow all over my daughter's table.

Lab tests showed a high lead content in the powder, but fortunately, the blood lead level test performed on my daughter was within …