The ZIP Code surrounding Clarkston, 30021, is among the top 20 postal codes in Georgia with the highest blood lead levels in young children during the past decade.
Georgia Health News quotes DeKalb County Environmental Health Manager Ryan Cira as saying the problem in the Clarkston area is not due to lead-based paint.
"There are refugees coming in already poisoned," Cira said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends parents adopting children from overseas should have them screened for lead contamination.
Federal health experts said a study of almost 1,760 children adopted from other countries between 1991 and 1999 found they were about twice as likely as U.S. children to have high levels of lead in their blood.
Lead exposure can cause reductions in IQ and attention span, reading and learning disabilities, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems in children.
GHN says information it obtained through an Open Records request also found highly elevated blood lead levels levels around Savannah and Augusta, Ga.
