Posted on 12/13/2022 10:48:10 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A law signed by Gov. Tom Wolf on Nov. 3 encourages doctors to test pregnant women, and children up to 2 years old, who they believe have been exposed to lead.
Act 150 is a smart move, but it doesn’t go far enough. Lead is everywhere — especially in industrial regions with older housing, which means Pittsburgh and vast swaths of Pennsylvania. Sen. Lisa Baker, R.-Luzerne, wanted Act 150 to make testing mandatory, but it was watered down in the amendment process. Now she’s reintroducing a bill to switch “encourage” back to “require,” making lead testing mandatory for all young children. This time, legislators should pass it as-is.
The effects of lead poisoning are serious and potentially permanent, especially in the brains of young children. Due to their growing frames and immature organ systems, children absorb five times as much lead into their bodies as do adults. The state Department of Health found elevated lead levels in 3,100 Pennsylvania children in 2020. But only 32% of kids under two were tested. So the tests might have missed more than 6,000 cases of high blood lead levels.
In Allegheny County, the trends have been good. The percent of children registering high lead concentrations has decreased from a recent high of 6.1% in 2010 to 1.7% in 2020, with an uptick to 1.9% last year. This reflects the phasing out of the most common sources of lead exposure in everyday life.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Do they eat lead chips in Africa?
Cuz...
“ I did lead testing in older and low-income homes a few years back.”
How common was exposed lead paint? Lead paint was banned 45 years ago, so nearly all must be covered by now.
There’s still some measurable lead paint out there. But you and I both know that’s not the problem.
I thought this was already done in PA?? We had to have all of our window sills & frames tested before replacement windows were installed.
Not sure what the problem is with this ... unless there are some hidden “fees” that will be filling political coffers.
Pencils haven’t used lead paint in decades. They can easily test water and if it’s not in the water, then you’re letting your kid chew on the window sills?
I did lead testing in 2010. So yea, it should be done.
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