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NATIONAL LEAD POISONING PREVENTION WEEK STRESSES LEAD-SAFE LIVING

Release Date: 10/22/2002
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Environmental News

Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is also part of the October celebration of Children’s Health Month. Children six years old and under are most at risk from lead poisoning because their bodies and nervous systems are still developing. Lead poisoning in children, even at low levels, can cause developmental problems, learning disabilities, impaired hearing and behavioral problems. The primary sources of lead exposure for children are deteriorating lead-based paint, lead contaminated dust and lead in residential soil. Minority and low-income children are disproportionately affected by lead poisoning since they are more likely to live in pre-1978 housing containing lead-based paint.

“Using today’s standards, in 1978 nearly 15 million children had elevated levels of lead in their blood. By 2002 the number of cases has dropped to several hundred thousand.” said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. “Although we have made great progress in reducing the number of cases, lead remains a critical health risk that thousands of children face everyday. This year’s theme, ‘Discover the Rewards of Lead-Safe Living,’ shows families how to create a healthy environment by having children tested for high blood levels of lead, testing their homes and working safely when lead is present.”

EPA has developed the following actions and regulations to reduce residential lead hazards:

• National Hazard Standards for Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil that provide homeowners, school administrators and childcare providers with science-based health standards to protect children from hazards posed by lead.
• Disclosure Rule to require persons selling or leasing housing constructed before 1978 to disclose known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards during all real-estate transactions.
• Pre-Renovation Lead Information Rule that requires renovators to distribute a lead hazard information pamphlet to housing owners and occupants before conducting renovations in pre-1978 housing.
• Training & Certification Program for Lead-Based Paint Activities to ensure that individuals conducting lead-based paint removal, risk assessment or inspection are trained and certified in safe and effective lead removal techniques.
• Research to identify better ways to control lead hazards with the goal of ultimately eliminating childhood lead poisoning.
• Education and Outreach Activities to work with affected communities and populations with lead-poisoning rates disproportionately affecting minorities. EPA’s focus has been on developing multilingual materials and campaigns to provide a “call to action” message of testing children, testing homes and working safely when lead is present in the home environment.

To protect children, parents should ask their health care providers about the advisability of testing children for high levels of lead in the blood. Homeowners may contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (424-5323) for information on how to find professionals to test houses for lead. Tenants can also consult with their landlords regarding testing pre-1978 residences when there are signs of deteriorating lead-based paint.

For more information about Lead Poisoning Prevention Week or lead poisoning in general, contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD or see EPA’s Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/lead.

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