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Governor announces Illinois will observe Lead Poisoning Prevention Week
Posted On Oct 27 2015
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“If you took this much lead dust and you spread it over a 1,500 square-foot home, that house would be contaminated”, explained Lead-Certified Program Instructor Greg Sauer.
To increase awareness of childhood lead poisoning prevention, the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department along with U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is participating in what they are calling “National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week”, October. 25 to 31.
Prior to this only children on Medicaid or from at risk areas for lead poisoning were required to be tested. The state’s 2015 Target Plan now aims for universal testing to widen the scope of prevention. More than half a million USA children ages 5 and younger have blood lead levels above five micrograms per deciliter, the reference level at which CDC recommends public health actions be initiated.
Most children who have lead poisoning don’t look or act sick and symptoms can be confused with common childhood complaints such as stomach aches, headaches, crankiness or loss of appetite, according to CDPH. Officials say test rates were higher for one- and two-year-olds in Baltimore, and in suburban areas, only less than 10 percent of children were tested.
In announcing the change at a West Baltimore clinic, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said universal testing statewide is needed because “lead poisoning knows no boundaries”.
State health officials are expected to finalize the new rules early next year.
Cases of lead poisoning a year ago was 355, while 2,004 children had elevated levels of lead in their blood that could put them at risk for poisoning. Pregnant women should avoid exposure to lead because lead can pass through a woman’s body into the unborn baby.
Lead poisoning can permanently damage youngsters’ nervous system. Lead is a neurotoxin found in lead-based paint, lead-glazed porcelain, ceramic dishes and plumbing with lead solder.
