Lead Safe Columbus program kicks-off in a local neighborhood
Almost a MILLION children are affected by elevated blood lead levels in the United States.
The Lead Safe Columbus Project is a neighborhood intervention that screens older homes for lead-based paint. The official kick-off for the program will be Thursday, July 15, 2010. Phase one of the project will begin in the North Highland neighborhood only in Columbus. The test kit offered to residents along with the lab findings will be free of charge!
Lead is a highly toxic metal, and homes built before 1950 may still contain old paint chips or dust that can severely poison children. The Lead Safe Columbus Project seeks to establish the safety of a home through a door-to-door dust wipe screening analysis. The knowledge this testing provides will allow parents and caregivers the opportunity to choose actions that can make their children lead safe. Providing a healthy home for all of our community’s residents is the goal of Lead Safe Columbus.
Children under the age of 6 are most at risk because lead affects their developing brain and nervous system. Some of the effects lead paint poisoning has on young children include learning disabilities, hearing loss, speech delays, violent behavior, and, in rare cases, seizures and even death. Childhood lead poisoning remains a major preventable environmental health problem in the United States.
The Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is based out of the Columbus Department of Public Health and is in collaboration with Safe Kids Columbus located at 2100 Comer Avenue, Columbus Georgia.
For more information, contact Pamela Fair, Public Information Officer for the health department at 706 321-6108.