Senate Recognizes National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

On October 18, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution designating the week of October 23, 2005, 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 hazard to children in the United States;
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 310,000 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 from low-income families are significantly more likely to be poisoned by lead than are children from high-income families; and Children are most often poisoned in their homes through exposure to lead particles when lead-based paint deteriorates or is disturbed during home renovation and repainting.