LEAD: WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED
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Lead is a neuro-toxin that is harmful to your body. It is especially harmful to children under six and for pregnant people. Childhood exposure to lead hazards can result in permanent learning difficulties, hearing loss, behavioral issues, and lowered academic performance. Associated health impacts can include hypertension, kidney disease, sexual dysfunction, and dementia. There are two main ways in which lead can get into our bodies:
Inhalation: breathing in lead “dust” that is created when lead paint peels, through friction surfaces on painted windows, doors and porches, or through unsafe repair or renovation work.
Ingestion: whether placing lead paint “chips” or toys containing lead into the mouth, drinking water contaminated with lead, or playing in soil contaminated with lead.
WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF EXPOSURE?
The legacy of lead in paint:
Lead dust from friction surfaces, unsafe work practices, or peeling and chipping lead paint from structures built before 1978
The legacy of lead in plumbing:
Water flowing through old galvanized plumbing, lead solder, and old brass fixtures with lead in them
The legacy of lead in gasoline and pesticides:
Contaminated soil around a home's dripline and in playgrounds and parks
Ongoing use of lead:
Some toys (especially from before 2008), older printed ceramics, jewelry, makeup, and imported candies
Some jet fuel
Hunting and fishing shot and sinkers
NEW YORK CHILDREN ARE IN PARTICULAR DANGER
Nearly 100,000 children in New York State were newly identified with elevated blood lead levels of at least 5 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL), since 2011 (when the CDC lowered the level of concern) to 2015.
NY has the highest number and percent of children with lead poisoning in the U.S.
NY has the oldest housing inventory in the U.S.
Lead paint was banned in 1978. Yet, nearly 78% of NY's housing stock, over 4 million structures, was built before 1978. Because of this high lead risk housing stock, New York's children continue to suffer from lead poisoning at alarming rates.
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