Posted on 11/22/2005 5:00:37 AM PST by Rebelbase
A landmark regulation to prevent children from being poisoned by lead was approved Monday for Guilford County.
The ordinance, which the county health board passed, is the first of its kind in North Carolina. Most counties follow only state and federal laws addressing lead poisoning, which are weaker than Guilford’s new rules.
Doctors will be required to test all children younger than 6 for lead poisoning — ideally twice, at ages 1 and 2. Child care facilities will need proof a child has been tested before enrollment.
Homeowners also will face new restrictions. Instead of waiting until a child is poisoned, they will be required to remove chipped, peeling paint in the house of any child with a dangerous lead level.
An earlier provision to fine and jail doctors and child care providers who violated the ordinance has been dropped, but homeowners could face penalties.
The ordinance was approved unanimously, with one board member absent. It takes effect immediately, but won’t be fully in force until the first of the year, when health workers have had time to educate doctors and landlords.
“I’m thrilled,” said Alyson Best, who oversees the county’s lead-poisoning prevention program. “I think it will make a tremendous difference, and not only in Guilford County.”
“Other counties look to us, and I’m hopeful that they will adopt something like this. ... This is a big thing for the South. It could make a dent.”
The ordinance came to the board after gaining approval from a group of landlords, county officials and health professionals.
That group formed after the News & Record published articles about local children poisoned by lead paint, mostly in low-income housing.
Lead enters children’s bloodstreams when they eat paint chips or, more commonly, ingest dust created by deteriorating paint.
At high levels, lead can kill — and even at lower levels, it can diminish IQs and trigger behavioral problems and learning disabilities.
Between 2001 and 2004, 84 children younger than 6 in Guilford County tested positive for dangerous or poisonous levels of lead. County health officials think the real number is higher because many children are never tested.
In 2004, with only state and federal rules in place, 41 percent of Guilford children in the target age range were tested.
The ordinance should boost that rate, health officials said.
“The doctors are part of the solution,” Rick Gorham, health board chairman, said. “The doctors are in a position of helping us in this effort, and they shouldn’t be penalized for not doing it.”
New York City, which has similar regulations, records an 80 percent compliance rate.
The board approved the ordinance with little discussion after a half-dozen people spoke in support of the regulations.
Still, the rules have at least one detractor.
Cheryl Farkas, a High Point resident, told the board Monday the new rules don’t go far enough to protect children. She said health officials should intervene even when children have low levels of lead because research indicates no level is safe.
Hundreds of children in Guilford County test positive for low levels of lead every year, and after the vote, Farkas said she recognizes intervening in so many cases would be costly.
“But it would have been worth it because this county could end up spending (billions) because of the long-term health effects,” she said.
Also at the meeting Monday, the board gave health department Director Merle Green permission to continuing studying whether the department should switch to a public health authority.
A health authority would be a non profit rather than a county department.
“We don’t want to keep balancing our books on the backs of taxpayers if we can,” Green said.
Over the next few months, Green plans to have discussions with employees about the logistics of switching to an authority.
“We’ll make sure the risk is low and the probability of success is high,” she said.
Oh, this will be coming to a town near you.......
When I was in school in Greensboro, we were told that certain segments of the population (re poor) were behind in academics because they ate lead paint. If it hadn't been for the lead paint, they would be as smart as everyone else.
"Lead enters children’s bloodstreams when they eat paint chips.."
Bush's fault!
While he's giving tax cuts to the rich, and cutting food stamps, the poor are forced to eat paint!
(If I have to post that this is sarcasm, I'm gonna slap you)
84 over a three year period.
What a disaster. [sarc]
Another overreach by the Health Dept. in search of something to do.
Now they want to be independent so they can really grab power to make decisions which can only be fought in courts, which means they will essentially be untouchable.
Then they can ban smoking in the county which they really want to do and bcome your nanny.
Disgusting.
They ought to give those lead tests here, children thrive on it where I live. I'll bet there isn't a kid in my neighborhood who can't tell you how many grains are readily available for any standard caliber round.
Has anybody told these busybodies that there are hundreds of gallons of paint sitting in stores around town?
These stupid people make me sick. It is far safer to encapsulate the lead in old paint than it is TO REMOVE IT AND FILL THE AIR AROUND THESE KIDS WITH A LEAD AEROSOL. They are going to force the very problem they say they are trying to prevent. Typical stupid liberals!
Your statement is right on target.
We had the tests done, the house "failed". The buyers sent the report saying how it failed (they have a young child). We examined the data which consisted of a few places where there was some old paint and a lot of lead "detected" under new paint none of which is peeling. We decided there was no health risk to the child nor any legal risk to us so we ignored it. Likewise the new owners ignored it presumably telling their child not to suck on the walls (windowsills present more risk, but didn't have much lead).
Bottom line we lowered the price for various needed repairs although not explicitly for the lead. But if we had wanted to rent we would have had to bite the (steel encased) bullet.
It may not be in lead paint at all. It may be a preservative used in inoculations. There is a theory that lead may contribute to autism. Any statistics from the testing of lead in children may prove or disprove that theory.
Oh puh-lease.
More than eight months after Mars Inc. announced recall, treats are seen in Santa Ana, California and Washington, D.C., stores.
PART ONE: HIDDEN THREAT -- Regulators have found unsafe lead levels in 112 brands of candy – most made in Mexico – but test results almost always are kept from parents and health officials...
PART TWO: THE CHILI FIELDS -- Chilies grown in Mexico start out safe but pick up lead as they are dried and ground on their way to candy factories.
PART THREE: THE CANDY MAKERS -- Some Mexican companies make two versions of candy, one clean and one using lead-tainted ingredients. These poison products are not for export but still make their way into California.
PART FOUR: POISONED PACKAGES -- [The Orange County] Register finds high levels at Mexican village where leaded glaze used in pottery-making.
PART FIVE: POROUS BORDER -- Regulators can't agree on which rules to follow to stop the flow of tainted candies into the United States...
snip
This is from WorldNetDaily:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32988
"For years there has been a debate about the cause or causes of autism, but the vast majority of finger-pointing has been directed at childhood vaccines as the culprit. And considering what is put into the vaccines injected into hours-old infants, it is easy to understand why they are at the top of the list of suspects: formaldehyde (used in embalming), thimerosal (nearly 50 percent mercury), aluminum phosphate (toxic and carcinogenic), antibiotics, phenols (corrosive to skin and toxic), aluminum salts (corrosive to tissue and neurotoxic), methanol (toxic), isopropyl (toxic), 2-pheoxyethanol (toxic), live viruses and a host of unknown components considered off-limits as trade secrets. These are just part of the vaccine mixture.
For those who believe there are elements in vaccines that may be responsible for the increased number of autism cases and other neurological disorders, thimerosal currently is at the top of the list of possible culprits being investigated."
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