Get the Lead Out
Did
you know that it only takes a speck of lead dust the size of a
grain of salt to poison a child?
In
2017, 652 NH children under the age of 6 years old were
identified with elevated blood lead levels 5ug/dL or higher (NO
level of lead is safe). This data brief provides more
information about lead exposure in children in NH:
https://files.constantcontact.com/e3cc0f9d001/1219e3c6-12a2-4f57-beb7-50e76144696b.pdf.
Changes to NH’s lead laws occurred about a year ago, and are now
being implemented, to lower the acceptable level of lead
exposure. This is a major step forward in protecting New
Hampshire children from lead poisoning. This legislation brings
a number of changes to NH’s childhood lead poisoning statutes.
Pediatricians, Property Owners/Landlords, Parents, and Child
Care Centers and Public Schools are all impacted by these
changes. Read this Quick Guide to SB247 to learn more
about the key points of the new legislation this summary for
more information:
https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/bchs/clpp/documents/sb247quickguide.pdf
Houses with lead paint that have been treated by being painted
over are not necessarily safe. Lead exposure can occur
anywhere that ‘vintage’ lead paint has not been painted over,
anywhere that paint is peeled, anywhere that paint gets abraded
(double-hung windows, door casings, painted flooring, etc.).
Some homes are old enough to have lead solder in their pipes
(very old ones might have lead pipes!). Most have water
fixtures that are older than 2014, when regulation required
reduced lead content. You can take your health into your
own hands and check out what is around you by testing surfaces
in your homes, and having your water tested.
