Protecting Our Children from Lead Poisoning
Long recognized as a dangerous toxin that can result in serious health problems, lead was removed from our gasoline and paint decades ago. But the problem of lead poisoning in children has not gone away. CLF is working to strengthen New Hampshire and Maine laws to better protect our children from this preventable, life-altering problem.
CLF in Action
In recent years, CLF has brought together a diverse group of New Hampshire stakeholders – public health officials, children’s advocates, property owners, and lead professionals, among others – to develop meaningful, long-lasting solutions to the state’s ongoing problem of childhood lead poisoning.
Experts agree that the two most critical tools in addressing childhood lead poisoning are improving screening and, of course, preventing children from being poisoned in the first place. CLF took a leading role in New Hampshire in crafting statewide legislation to address these needs. CLF and our partners have also been working to identify needed solutions at the community level, with a focus on the City of Manchester, where the problem is particularly acute.
What’s at Stake
According to the Centers for Disease Control, any exposure to lead is dangerous for children. Even low levels of lead exposure can cause irreversible health problems when left untreated – including IQ deficits and cognitive and behavioral issues – effectively robbing children of their full potential. And, while the problem hits low-income and communities of color hardest, it affects children across all demographics throughout New England.
In New Hampshire, approximately 1,000 new cases of lead poisoning are diagnosed each year. While that number is alarming on its own, the scope of the problem is likely much worse, since too few children – barely 40 percent of those considered highest risk for exposure – are actually tested each year.
The lifelong health impacts those children will experience are troubling enough, but a recent report from New Hampshire reveals that the long-term costs go beyond the individual child. The report estimates that the 1,000 children diagnosed in the state in 2013 will lose $240 million in collective lifetime earnings. The costs for special education, medical treatment, and crime linked to lead exposure adding up to millions of dollars more in economic impact.
