Exposure to lead in drinking water from private wells during early childhood is associated with an increased risk of being reported for delinquency during teenage years, according to a new study. Researchers found that children who get their water from private wells before age 6 have higher blood lead levels and also have a 21% higher risk of being reported for any delinquency after age 14.

The study, appearing this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that children who get their water from private wells before age 6 have higher blood lead levels and, as a result, have a 21% higher risk of being reported for any delinquency after age 14, and a 38% increased risk of having a record for a serious complaint, such as felony property or weapons offenses and misdemeanor assault.

«We know that lead exposure early in life has been linked to lower IQ, reduced lifetime earnings and an increased risk for behavioral problems and criminal activity,» said Jackie MacDonald Gibson, lead author of the study and chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington.

«This research highlights the need to recognize the risks to children relying on private well water and for new programs to ensure they have access to clean drinking water. Failing to do so imposes burdens not just on the affected children and their families but also on society at large,» Gibson said.

Researchers analyzed a 20-year dataset linking blood lead measurements for 13,580 children under the age of 6 to their drinking water source before age 6, and to reported juvenile delinquency records after the children reached age 14.

The dataset was drawn from records of all children who were tested for blood lead levels in Wake County, NC, between 1998 and 2011 and juvenile delinquency reports of the children in the sample from the NC Department of Public Safety database.

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