Which pathway is most common for lead exposure in children under 6?

The most common pathway for lead exposure in children under 6 is through hand-to-mouth contact from dust. This pathway is significant because children at this age often explore their environment with their hands and then put their hands in their mouths, which facilitates the ingestion of lead particles that may be present in household dust. Dust can become contaminated with lead from various sources, including deteriorating lead-based paint in older homes, contaminated soil that is tracked indoors, and lead particles from plumbing and other sources.

The risk is heightened by the fact that young children are more likely to be in contact with surfaces where lead can accumulate, and they tend to spend more time on the floor or crawling. Ingestion of dust has been well-documented as a major avenue for lead exposure in this age group, which makes this pathway particularly critical in understanding how to mitigate lead poisoning in children.

Other exposure pathways, such as inhalation of fumes, ingestion of soil, or consumption of leaded foods, do occur but are less common than the incidental ingestion of lead dust through hand-to-mouth behavior among young children.