Senate Recognizes National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

On October 10, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 457) designating the week of October 24, 2004, as “National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.”

Sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

Lead poisoning is a leading environmental health hazard to children in the United States;
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 434,000 preschool children in the United States have harmful levels of lead in their blood;
Lead poisoning may cause serious, long-term harm to children, including reduced intelligence and attention span, behavior problems, learning disabilities, and impaired growth;
Children most often are poisoned in their homes through exposure to lead particles when lead-based paint deteriorates during home renovation and repainting.

Explaining that the importance of combating the threat of lead poisoning to our children’s health “has never been greater,” Sen. Reed stated, “It is estimated that 25 million homes nationwide have lead hazards. Many of those homes were built before 1950 when paint contained as much as 50 percent lead. Peeling chips and dust from deteriorating lead-based paint are the most common sources of childhood lead poisoning. According to the latest national health estimates, nearly half a million children under the age of 6 suffer from lead poisoning, with these children eight times more likely to come from low-income working families than wealthy families.” He said that Congress should “find the will and the resources to eradicate childhood lead poisoning in this country. Designating the week of October 24, 2004 through October 30, 2004 as ‘National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week’ will help shine a light on this terrible problem, energize the Federal Government into playing a more active role in eliminating [lead poisoning], and help improve local, State, and Federal cooperation on this issue. With concerted effort, we can eliminate the tragedy of childhood lead poisoning so that no family in our country has to live in unsafe housing.”