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U.S EPA awards $25,856 to Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria

Release Date: 10/24/2006
Contact Information: Wendy Chavez, 415-947-4248, [email protected]

(10/24/06) Grant funds educational outreach

SAN FRANCISCO – As part of Lead Awareness Week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it has awarded a $25,856 grant to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in Sonoma County, Calif. to increase awareness of lead-based paint and its adverse health effects.

EPA awarded approximately $900,000 nationwide in 2006 to assist federally-recognized tribes educate residents about the health effects of lead-based paint and evaluate potential lead-paint hazards at homes where tribal children live and at tribally-owned buildings used by children.

“This grant will help the Graton Rancheria inform its community members about the hazards of lead-based paint and how to reduce potential exposure to lead hazards,” said Enrique Manzanilla, Communities and Ecosystems Division director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “These funds will help protect the health and well-being of the youngest members of the Graton Rancheria.”

The Graton Rancheria will use the EPA funding to conduct workshops for tribal community members to explain health risks of lead-based paint, in particular health risks to young children and expectant mothers.

Lead-based paint is a major source of lead poisoning for children and also affects adults. Lead poisoning can cause brain damage and result in impaired mental functions. Childhood lead poisoning can result in retarded mental and physical development and reduced attention span. Retarded fetal development can occur at even low blood lead levels. Unborn children, infants and young children have been identified as being among the most vulnerable to lead's adverse health effects.

The use of lead-based paint in residential housing was banned in 1978. Approximately 40 percent of all U.S. housing units -- about 38 million homes -- have some lead-based paint. For information on EPA’s lead paint program visit: https://www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/lead/ For information on lead in paint, dust, and soil see https://www.epa.gov/lead/.

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