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ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY UPDATE ARTICLES
EPA EXPANDS ITS PROGRAM TO
ELIMINATE CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING
EPA announced the first
coordinated federal program to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in the United
States. The program was developed by a Presidential Task Force on Environmental
Health & Safety Risks to Children. The President's FY2001 Budget calls for
an investment of 164.5 million for EPA and several other agencies. Under the
plan, EPA will develop several lead paint rules intended to ensure that parents
receive information needed to protect their children.
A study will be conducted, by
the EPA and other agencies, of children in both home-based and institutional
childcare centers to determine if they are being exposed to lead hazards. Recent
data show that in the United States nearly one million children, under the age
of six (one in 20), have elevated levels of lead in their bodies. Research has
shown that pregnant women that have been exposed to elevated lead levels can
pass the concentrations of lead in their blood to their unborn child.
Elevated blood lead levels can produce:
- significant nervous system effects;
- reduction in intelligence and attention
span;
- reading and learning disabilities; and
- behavior problems
Most people have been taught that children are
exposed to lead primarily from gnawing on windowsills and eating chips of lead
paint, but health experts now view lead dust as the culprit. Lead is found in
old paint that still coats most city homes and many in the suburbs. The old
paint deteriorates into dust particles that settle onto floors and ledges.
Children get the dust on their hands and those hands go in their mouths.
Some lead safety tips are:
- Wash your child's hands often to remove lead
dust.
- Clean toys and pacifiers frequently.
- Wash hard surfaces in your home, like floors
and widow ledges, weekly to remove lead dust.
- Make sure your child has a diet high in
calcium (dairy products) and iron (leafy green vegetables).
- Wipe your feet before entering the home to
keep lead dust outside.
- Do not dry-scrape or burn paint.
- Have your baby tested for lead poisoning at
9 months of age and again at the second and third birthdays.
(Source U.S. EPA)
For more information, please
contact
Gary Brown at (610) 265-1510/GBROWN@RTENV.COM | 
