While many of us believe childhood lead poisoning is a thing of the past, the sad truth is that it’s not. In fact, every year, more than 1,000 New Hampshire children are poisoned by lead, with deteriorating lead-based paints the primary cause. The impacts of lead poisoning can be devastating and lifelong. Children can suffer…
May 21
2015
2015
Feb 18
2015
2015
A Firsthand Account of the Ravages of Lead Poisoning
On February 17, New Hampshire’s Senate Health & Human Services Committee held a public hearing on SB 135, a bill designed to better protect New Hampshire kids from the continuing threat of lead poisoning. The Committee heard strong support for SB 135 from a broad range of interests. Joan Valk, a Family Support Specialist at…
Feb 18
2015
2015
Childhood Lead Poisoning: A Preventable Disease
In my last blog – the second in a series about childhood lead poisoning – I discussed the fact that not nearly enough kids in New Hampshire are being tested for lead in their blood. As discussed, screening is essential for determining if a child has been poisoned and, if he or she has been, for…
Feb 12
2015
2015
Screening Kids for Lead Poisoning – Why New Hampshire Needs to do Better (Spoiler alert: only 39% of high-risk NH children are being tested)
In my most recent blog – the first in a series about childhood lead poisoning – I provided an overview of the challenge: that even though we know there is no safe level of lead exposure for kids and that even low levels of lead can cause irreversible, lifelong harm to our children, we are…