Determining the lead-poisoning risk level of children in the United States can now be done over the Internet, as MSU researchers developed a predictive Web site that aids in the process.

The site allows users to enter contributing factors of lead poisoning, including the child's address, housing condition, family history of lead poisoning and socioeconomic status, and provides the user with a risk-assessment evaluation.

The Web site already has gained acceptance from various Michigan lead-poisoning awareness groups, including the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, a group that supports the coordination of lead-poisoning prevention and testing services for children in Michigan.

"The ideal result would be that medical clinics use this as the means of deciding who should be tested," said Stan Kaplowitz, MSU professor of sociology and one of the Web site's creators. "Although it's easy for the average person to use, it's primarily geared toward the medical community."

The Web site's developers presented the new tool this week at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in San Francisco.

Out of 11 percent of Michigan children younger than 6 tested for high blood-lead levels in 2002, more than 4,000 had dangerous levels of lead in their blood.

If undetected, lead poisoning can cause brain damage, developmental problems and even death.

In August, Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced a statewide initiative called "Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention: A Call to Action." The initiative will provide lead-testing education information to each new parent, further the testing of lead in houses and other structures and improve risk assessment in urban areas.

Urban areas provide one of the most common sources of lead poisoning in children - older houses with lead-based paint that are not kept up, Kaplowitz said.

"The biggest problem is for houses built pre-1950s, when lead levels were higher in paints," Kaplowitz said.

In 1978, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use and production of lead-based paint in residential housing.

Ingham County ranked ninth among Michigan counties in 2002 for the number of children with high blood-lead levels. In the county, where 26 percent of housing was built before 1950, 38 children younger than 6 were affected.

Lynn Hermann, lead-poisoning program coordinator at the Ingham County Health Department, said the program tries to offer lead testing to residents who don't have health insurance or Medicaid.

"We try to reserve our resources, because we're low on funds, for people who have no other way and are at a high risk of these problems," Hermann said.

Despite the popular focus of the problem, lead poisoning can affect people of all ages, especially those in certain professions, such as painting and construction.

"The problem can affect anybody," said Carol Hinkle, a nurse consultant for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

Hinkle said she is very happy with the new Web site, adding that she hopes it will raise awareness.

"It's just a matter of getting people to utilize it," she said.

The Web site can be accessed at midata.msu.edu/bll. To contact the Ingham County Health Department Lead Poisoning Program, call (517) 887-4308.