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At the end of January, 2,000 pregnant women and children under 18 were contacted by Health Insurance as part of lead poisoning screening around the Metaleurop site in Arnas, near Villefranche-sur-Saône, a former foundry of lead.
At the end of February, of the 223 blood lead samples taken, no case was detected with a rate greater than 50 µg / L, indicates the Rhône prefecture.
In addition, only one case exceeds 25 µg/L and it is equal to 26 µg/L.
These screenings concerned seven pregnant women, 24 children from 0 to 2 years old, 59 children from 3 to 6 years old and 133 children from 7 to 17 years old.
The signs of lead poisoning are non-specific and often not detectable on clinical examination.
This is the reason why, only the dosage of lead in the blood (blood lead) can detect cases of infantile lead poisoning, defined by a blood lead level greater than or equal to 50 micrograms of lead per liter of blood (> 50 µg/L ).
All screenings are covered by Health Insurance and the screening vouchers sent to the inhabitants of the risk area are valid until July 31, 2023. They allow families to go to the analysis laboratory of their choice or to call on a nurse to carry out the blood test.