Declines in adult blood lead levels in New York City compared with the United States, 2004-2014

The lessening of disparity in lead exposure across income groups and decreasing exposure at the high end of the distribution among non-Hispanic black and Asian adults in NYC suggest that regulatory and outreach efforts have effectively targeted these higher exposure risk groups. However, Asian adults still had the highest average BLL, suggesting a need for enhanced outreach to this group. Local surveillance remains an important tool to monitor BLLs of local populations and to inform initiatives to reduce exposures in those at highest risk.