How common is lead poisoning?

Lead poisoning is not as widespread a problem as it used to be, now that lead has been taken out of paint and most gasoline, but it is still a public health concern on the East Coast of the United States. In the early 1990s, four percent of children tested had elevated levels of lead in their blood. Almost twenty years later, that number had dropped to less than two percent in children aged 1 to 5.