NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
MAYOR OBSERVES NATIONAL LEAD POISONING PREVENTION WEEK WITH CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS; OVER 500 HOMES CLEARED OF HAZARDSMayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that more than 500 homes have now been renovated or made “lead safe” as part of Harrisburg’s award winning lead paint poisoning prevention program. This week marks the city’s annual observances of Lead Paint Hazard Week, with a special youth education program at the Camp Curtin Elementary School. First begun by the Mayor in 1995, Harrisburg’s Lead Paint Hazard Control Program received a $3 million Lead Hazard Control Grant in 2003 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD), as well as a $530,000 grant from the PA Dept. of Health. The City’s program was recognized by HUD with a top national “Best Practices” award, and it serves as a model for other programs around the country. Reed said the program allowed for the complete rehabilitation of 47 homes last year. An additional 50 rental unit properties received lead paint inspections, assessments or dust wipe clearances. The total cost of last year’s work was $475,000. Additional program highlights include: o Over 10,000 children have received initial and follow-up lead poisoning screening since 1995 o The number of tested children showing elevated levels of lead in their blood has dropped an impressive 4.79% in the past year alone, and nearly 18% since 2003 o More than 500 city living units, including homes and apartments, have been made “lead safe” since the program’s inception o 50 lead poisoning prevention education events have been conducted o The average cost of making a home “lead safe” has risen from $10,000 to about $12,500 o Approximately 10 new construction contractors are trained in lead paint mitigation practices and techniques each year by the city’s Department of Building and Housing Development, which significantly expands the number of contractors qualified to do abatement work and allows them to utilize such practices in all their home rehab work in the City Reed said the city’s program includes codes inspections and assessments, the removal or abatement of lead paint hazards in homes, and public education activities focused upon lead paint poisoning prevention. The program is partnered with the Pinnacle Health System Childhood Lead Poisoning Program(CLPPP), who assign a fulltime registered nurse to assist the city’s lead paint hazard abatement efforts. Focused upon the health of children, the program includes lead hazard risk assessments and testing of children by a public health nurse, who works closely with families to educate them about the hazards and ensures that children do not develop lead paint poisoning during the rehabilitation process. “Our lead paint poisoning prevention activities are considered amongst the finest in the nation,” said the Mayor. “But our real success is more accurately measured by the number of young lives and minds that we have been able to save from this hidden killer. The dramatic drop in city-based lead paint poisoning cases that we have registered is clear proof this comprehensive abatement effort works, and it works well.” Partnering with the city for the sixth consecutive year to cosponsor the annual lead awareness educational event is Liberty Mutual Group. Company Sales Manager Barry Eaton todaypresented the Mayor with a $700 check to help underwrite the costs of producing lead paint prevention coloring books for children. Liberty Mutual Group is the nation’s eighth largest provider of multi-line personal insurance products and plans. Their contribution to the city’s program is yet another example of Liberty Mutual Group’s concern for the health and safety of Harrisburg’s residents and children. The Mayor said lead poisoning is the nation’s leading health hazard for children under the age of 6. It is also most harmful to children under the age of 6 because the metal is easily absorbed into their growing bodies and interferes with the developing brain and other organs and body systems. Pregnant women and women of child-bearing age are also at risk. Last year, Pinnacle Health System’s CLPPP conducted blood level screenings on 2,405 children in the Harrisburg area, with 197 having elevated levels of lead in their blood. Reed said lead was used in paints prior to 1978, before its environmental dangers were first recognized. Applied to both the interiors and exteriors of homes throughout the midstate, it is estimated that approximately 68% of the homes in the city have had some level of lead contamination over the past thirty years. The chief sources of lead poisoning are lead-based paint dust and flakes in older homes, soil contamination, drinking water contamination from leaded pipes and soldered joints, leaded crystal and cans, lead-glazed ceramic ware, hobbies and crafts, and some forms of cosmetics. |
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