Recently, there’s been increasing publicity in the news throughout the United States about the impact of unsafe lead paint on children’s health. One of the states highly impacted by lead paint poisoning is New Jersey. Since 2000, the state reported more than 225,000 cases of children under six with elevated levels of lead poisoning. Over 3000 of those cases came recently, since 2015.
The problems and risks for New Jersey children caused governor Chris Christie to take notice. Recently, Governor Christie signed a bill into law that reduces the threshold of lead levels in a children’ blood that requires the state to take action. Previously, the state only had to help children who showed lead poisoning levels of 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter. The new level is 5 micrograms, which is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended standard.
Experts believe the best way to help children avoid lead paint poisoning is prevention, and the new policy will help catch unsafe living situations sooner. There’s no change in the state procedures for assisting families whose children test above the state’s elevated levels. If you live in New Jersey, this is the process for getting help:
- In accordance with the law, have your children tested for lead paint exposure at one year old.
- If your children show elevated blood levels, your town will receive notification and send a nurse to your family home. The nurse will inspect the home and discover the cause of exposure.
- The state will require the home’s owners to cover or remove the source of the lead paint risk. The can involve removing or covering the dangerous paint.
Although Governor Christie previously vetoed similar bills that helped fund lead paint containment, he’s happily changed his view. Environmental advocate and director Elyse Pivnick believes this time that state will approve the $3-$10 million needed to implement the new law. The future looks bright for keeping New
Picture this: you, your spouse, and your young child are in your backyard enjoying a nice summer day. Birds are chirping, burgers are grilling, and everyone is smiling. Everything seems perfect–until your child starts coughing, and you can’t figure out why. Assuming it’s probably allergies, you decide it’s time to take your family inside. However, the next morning when you look outside, there is a thin coating of white dust over your entire yard.
What would you do if this dust contained lead? Who is responsible for paying for damages if any should come from this? If you say the neighbor, one couple from New Orleans would agree.
Andrew Pellett and Rachel Smith are suing their neighbor, Aaron R. Dare, for allegedly exposing their family to lead. Along with having to dispose of some of their belongings, the couple also has a minor child who will need monitoring for exposure to lead, as children are the most susceptible to harmful side effects that come from this chemical. According to the couple, dust from Dare’s renovations covered their house, and upon testing, this dust was apparently found to contain lead.
Exposure to lead can be devastating, with side effects ranging from headaches all the way to death. Because of this and the regulations from 1978 stating that all homeowners or lessors must make buyers or lessees aware of the presence of lead, it makes the most sense to use materials that are lead free. However, even if you are making renovations without the intent to sell or lease your property, you could still face the wrath of the law, as Aaron R. Dare may, if you use harmful materials. Keep this in mind the next time you are going to make renovations, as you may be held liable for more than just your own property if you choose to use lead-based materials.
If you notice a home built before America’s 1978 lead-paint ban with chipping, cracking or otherwise damaged paint, chances are that lead is in that very paint. Get professional help from contractors right away to avoid lead poisoning before it does permanent damage, especially to young children.
ECOBOND® is the nation’s leader in developing and distributing products that improve the protection of human health and safety from the hazards of lead in the home, workplace, and the environment. With over 15 years in patented and proven success, the ECOBOND® family of products have been extensively used in successfully treating lead hazards in over 11,000,000 tons of material while serving over 100,000 customers in the United States and Internationally.
To learn more visit www.EcobondPaint.com, view our lead paint treatment video or download our free Industry Report: http://www.LeadPaintRemovalReport.com
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