Lead Poisoning Prevention
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Due to copyright laws, MDH can only link to appropriate websites for some of the information on the subjects listed below. In most cases, the link will remain valid, however, in some cases the link will change without MDH's knowledge. MDH will make every attempt to link to active sites, but please understand we cannot guarantee that the links referenced below will remain active.
On this page:
Lead, smoke exposure in kids linked to ADHD - October 20082008 Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan Now Available
2007 Data Report Now Available
Young Children Are Not at Risk From Exposure to Lead in Synthetic Turf Fields — August 2008
Senate Legislation Would Ban Lead in Toys — March 7, 2008
EPA Releases New Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule — March 31, 2008
Blood Lead Testing Methods Report to the Legislature — February 29, 2008
National Children's Study Kick-Off — January 16, 2008
Lead, smoke exposure in kids linked to ADHD
The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center released an article in October 2008 regarding a study that documented exposure to both lead and tobacco smoke raises the risk of ADHD in children and teens. The study showed that eliminating childhood exposure to lead and tobacco smoke could cut the incidence of ADHD in the U.S. by more than a third. The study is one of the first to quantify the risks of lead and tobacco smoke exposure and ADHD.
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2008 Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan Now Available
In collaboration with a wide range of partners MDH has reissued the State of Minnesota Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan (PDF: 545KB/ 43 pages). The plan contributes to meeting the national goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning as a public health problem. This 2008 plan contains background on lead exposure in Minnesota, an assessment of risk factors for lead, and an overview of modifications to the plan proposed by advisory members. The 2008 plan updates the most recent version of the plan, which was released in July 2006.
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2007 Data Report Now Available
The 2007 Blood Lead Surveillance Report (PDF: 809KB/21 pages) describes the activities of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Childhood Lead Prevention Program (CLPPP) and the data resulting from the MDH Blood Lead Information System (BLIS) for the 2007 calendar year. The report contains a description of the trends in lead testing and elevated blood lead levels in Minnesota, and summarizes activities taking place in Minnesota to prevent childhood lead poisoning.
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Young Children Are Not at Risk From Exposure to Lead in Synthetic Turf Fields
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff has released its evaluation of various synthetic athletic fields. The evaluation concludes that young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields. CPSC staff evaluation showed that newer fields had no lead or generally had the lowest lead levels. Although small amounts of lead were detected on the surface of some older fields, none of these tested fields released amounts of lead that would be harmful to children.
CPSC Staff Analysis and Assessment of Synthetic Turf “Grass Blades” (PDF: 29KB/6 pages)
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Senate Legislation Would Ban Lead in Toys
Senate legislation would ban lead in toys. The U.S. Senate passed major consumer legislation recently that includes a ban on lead in toys as well as on industry-paid travel for employees of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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EPA Releases New Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule
Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children.
To protect against this risk, on March 31, 2008, EPA issued the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning in April 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
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Blood Lead Testing Methods Report to the Legislature
The 2007 Legislature directed MDH to conduct a study to evaluate blood lead testing methods used to confirm elevated blood lead status. This report is the response to that legislative directive. Specifically, it contains an examination of the false positive rate of capillary tests for children who are younger than 72 months old, current protocols for conducting capillary testing, including filter paper methodology, and existing guidelines and regulations from other states and federal agencies regarding lead testing. As required, the report also includes recommendations on the use of capillary tests to initiate environmental investigations and case management, and reducing the state mandatory intervention level to ten micrograms of lead per deciliter (μg/dL) of whole blood.Go to > top
National Children's Study Kick-Off
There was a kick-off for the National Children's Study on 1/16/08 at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota campus. The National Children’s Study will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21. The goal of the study is to improve the health and well-being of children. This is the largest and most comprehensive study of child and human health ever conducted in the United States.
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