{"id":4187,"date":"2024-10-21T15:30:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T19:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/?p=4187"},"modified":"2024-10-21T15:30:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T19:30:29","slug":"maryland-department-of-the-environment-promotes-education-on-30th-anniversary-of-lead-poisoning-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/2024\/10\/21\/maryland-department-of-the-environment-promotes-education-on-30th-anniversary-of-lead-poisoning-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Department of the Environment Promotes Education on 30th Anniversary of Lead Poisoning Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oct. 20-26 is Lead Poisoning Prevention Week; Maryland celebrates pioneering law
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BALTIMORE (Oct. 21, 2024) \u2013 The Maryland Department of the Environment today celebrated the 30th anniversary of the law establishing the state\u2019s lead poisoning prevention program by connecting families with assistance at the Eutaw Meridian Park Community Day and Resource Fair in Baltimore.

Maryland\u2019s Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing law, enacted in 1994, has dramatically reduced rates of childhood lead poisoning across the state. Today\u2019s fair, coordinated by the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative and held at Eutaw Meridian Park in Baltimore, offered information to help parents in some of the state\u2019s most vulnerable communities eliminate childhood exposure to lead.

\u201cThe Moore-Miller Administration is committed to ending child poverty, and we\u2019ve made a lot of progress in reducing childhood lead poisoning. Now we must eliminate this threat once and for all,\u201d said Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain. \u201cWe are excited to mark 30 years of combatting lead poisoning and advancing environmental justice with a whole-of-community approach working together as partners.\u201d

The Department of the Environment works in coordination with the Maryland Department of Health, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, local authorities and advocacy groups. Governor Wes Moore has proclaimed<\/a> Oct. 20-26 Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in Maryland. \u201cBright futures begin lead-free\u201d is the theme of this year\u2019s national awareness week.

\u201cThe Maryland Department of Health is happy with the progress that has been made over the last 30 years in ensuring a lead-free and healthy future for Maryland\u2019s children,\u201d said Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman. \u201cWe will continue to partner with parents, communities, and health care providers, to prevent future exposures to lead and give every child a healthier start to life.\u201d

\u201cMaryland moms and dads all want to raise their children in a safe home, free of silent health risks, and we have made significant progress towards that goal over the last three decades,\u201d said DHCD Secretary Jake Day. \u201cThe Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is proud to partner with our fellow state agencies and local partners to prevent lead poisoning and ensure future generations grow up healthy.\u201d

\u201cBuilding on the work of Parents Against Lead, the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative was founded 31 years ago by a group of Baltimore City parents whose children had been poisoned by the lead paint in their homes. Since that time, we have worked tirelessly to help thousands of families and hundreds of communities in Maryland and around the country build brighter futures for their children by advancing efforts to eliminate all sources of lead poisoning in housing,\u201d said Ruth Ann Norton, President & CEO, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. \u201cMaryland\u2019s 99% reduction in childhood lead poisoning over the last 30 years is an admirable achievement, and now is our opportunity to close this final gap and ensure that 100% of our children are free from the toxic legacy of lead.\u201d

In 1993, one in four children were found to have a blood level at or above 10 micrograms per deciliter. Exposure to lead can cause serious harm to a child\u2019s health, including slowed growth and development and learning and behavior problems.

The lead level originally defined as \u201celevated\u201d started at 15 micrograms per deciliter but is now 3.5 micrograms per deciliter. A finding of this level in a child now triggers notifications to parents and property owners and medical and environmental case management for children.

The law originally required steps to reduce lead risks in rental properties built before 1950. In 2015, the law was expanded to apply to properties built before 1978, when lead paint for housing was banned nationally. In 2016, testing of children ages 1 and 2 for lead became mandatory throughout Maryland. Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should talk to their health care provider about getting a blood lead test.

The burden of lead poisoning falls disproportionately on low-income families, with an estimated half to three quarters of medical cases or enforcement actions against rental property owners taking place in overburdened communities. However, lead poisoning crosses all socioeconomic and geographic boundaries. Other sources of lead besides paint include: products, such as food, cosmetics, traditional medicines and toys, imported from other countries; older collectible items and toys; dust brought into the home from work or hobbies; contaminated soil; and drinking water.

Additional information is on our website<\/a>.

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###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oct. 20-26 is Lead Poisoning Prevention Week; Maryland celebrates pioneering law BALTIMORE (Oct. 21, 2024) \u2013 The Maryland Department of the Environment today celebrated the 30th anniversary of the law establishing the state\u2019s lead poisoning prevention program by connecting families with assistance at the Eutaw Meridian Park Community Day and Resource Fair in Baltimore. Maryland\u2019s  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14,1],"tags":[38,132],"class_list":["post-4187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lead-poisoning-prevention-2","category-press-release","category-uncategorized","tag-lead-poisoning-prevention","tag-secretary-serena-mcilwain"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4187"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4190,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4187\/revisions\/4190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}