Lead poisoning: the foremost preventable disease of childhood.

A national commitment to end childhood lead poisoning was made almost 20 years ago. This commitment was threatened in the 1980s when federal categorical grants and reporting requirements were terminated. States and local governments were asked to solve the problem. As a result, prevention efforts have been sporadic and were scattered geographically. In February 1991 the Department of Health and Human services released a strategic plan that and Human services released a strategic plan that implicitly acknowledged the leadership role of the federal government. NAPNAP will follow the evolution of this plan.