National Lead Poisoning Week Is Oct. 20-26

The environmental testing experts at AirMD understand all too well the dangers of lead poisoning – especially when it comes to children. We are pleased to take this opportunity to join with other leaders in the field of scientific air and water quality assessment to help spread the word during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which is October 20-26, 2019. The purpose of NLPPW is to help communities work together to reduce childhood exposure to lead.

“Lead poisoning — at levels that do not cause immediate symptoms — can permanently damage kids’ brains,” WebMD says. “Before their second birthday, children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning. They are, of course, more likely than older children to put lead-contaminated hands or toys or paint chips in their mouths. Moreover, a child’s gastrointestinal tract also absorbs lead more readily than does the adult gut.”

But that’s not the biggest threat. As pediatrics professor John Rosen, MD, director of the lead program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y., told WebMD, lead toxicity poses a serious threat to a child’s rapidly developing brain.

Did you know…

• Many homes built before 1978 contain lead paint on both interior and exterior walls. When lead paint gets old, it can start to peel or come off in pieces and become a hazard. Find out more: https://www.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family-exposures-lead#sl-home
• Children’s hands and toys can pick up household dust or exterior soil contaminated by lead. Be sure to move children’s outdoor play areas away from bare soil and the sides of your home. Wet-mop floors and wet-wipe surfaces indoors often to reduce the risk of lead exposure!
• Lead exposure is dangerous during early childhood development, particularly for children who crawl! Make sure to take off your shoes when entering the house to prevent bringing lead-contaminated soil in from outside.
• You cannot see, taste, or smell lead in drinking water, but you can learn basic information about sources of lead in drinking water and suggestions for reducing exposure.
  https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/infographic-lead-drinking-water

The National Lead Information Center provides information about lead, lead hazards, and preventing lead exposure. Call the toll-free hotline, 1-800-424-LEAD [5323] for more information.

You can also call AirMD, a highly respected company specializing in water quality testing company and mold testing based in Boca Raton, FL, at 1-888- GO AIRMD (462-4763). We would be happy to answer any questions you have – not only during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week but all year.