PITTSBURGH -- Ella Fuener loves pushing her doll in the stroller and reading stories with her mom.

She is truly a happy baby and doesn't seem sick in any way. So when her mother, Keira, found out her daughter had dangerous lead levels she couldn't believe it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that when it comes to elevated blood-lead levels anything over 10 is dangerous and anything over 20 is poison. Ella registered an 18.

That was frightening for her mother.

"If you read any additional info they really say there is no safe level, so that's the scary thing too," Fuener said. Even scarier, two other moms on the same Edgewood street told Fuener their children also tested positive for lead.

Allegheny County Health Department inspectors say the typical stereotypes for lead problems are no longer true.

"We don't see a lot of children we call paint eaters," Jeff Jozwiak of the health department said.

What they do see are a lot of problems stemming from lead dust, even in well-kept homes such as the Fueners' house.

County inspectors found surprising culprits in the Fueners' home.

Lead was found on the surface of an old trunk used for a TV stand and on a trunk used as a coffee table. The trunk had been stripped of paint, but still had lead residue on it.

Ella's lead reading was high enough for the Fueners to get a free home inspection from Allegheny County.

Since that inspection, the family has replaced windows and furniture and Ella's lead level is down to seven, a little safer.

Health department lead expert, Jeff Jozwiak says lead screenings in the county are way down.

"That's one of the issues we've been dealing with, trying to elevate the screening rate." Jozwiak said.

In 1991 the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended screening all children for lead, but since 1997, Jozwiak said, the group has backed off and recommended only targeted screenings and only in lower-income areas.

According to Jozwiak, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh used to report 500 lead screenings a month. That number is now less than half.

A representative for Children’s Hospital says it averages 60 screenings a week, totaling 240 a month

"All these kids are getting tested for iron around that same time anyway and they could just at the same time be tested for lead,” Jozwiak said.

Since pediatricians are not required to give children lead tests, the health department says you should request one when your child is between 1 and 2.

The Allegheny County Health Department also offers free screenings. You just have to make an appointment with one of their nurses.

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More Info:

- Allegheny County Lead Poisoning Prevention