Free Household Lead Tests For Families with Young Children

 

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 19-25.

 

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 19-25. To mark the week, Healthy Community Coalition (HCC) is partnering with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (MeCDC) to offer parents of young children who live in older homes a free home lead dust test kit.

 

Offers for free tests come with an educational brochure. Families with children born in 2013 will receive the offer and brochure through the mail. In addition, HCC will be distributing the offers and brochures to families in Franklin County through educational seminars, mobile health unit visits, and at HCC events.

 

“The goal of offering these options to obtain a free lead test kit is to help our local families determine if their home has a lead dust problem,” Christine Bruen of HCC stated, “and help them figure out what to do to keep their children safe from lead.”

 

Exposure to dust that comes from lead paint in homes built before 1950 is the most common way children are poisoned by lead in Maine. Lead paint is often found in homes built before 1950 and sometimes in homes built before 1978. Lead poisoning can cause behavior problems, learning disabilities, speech and language delays, and lower intelligence.

 

“The Western District alone has approximately 37,160 homes built before 1950, which is 38 percent of the population in the area. We are hoping that the families with young childrenundefinedespecially children under age 3undefinedwho live in these older homes will take advantage of the opportunity to test their home for lead,” said Bruen.

 

Made possible by the Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund, the free lead dust tests are part of Maine’s effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning.

 

If you have questions about the dangers of lead in your home or the offers available to help prevent lead poisoning, please contact Christine Bruen at 207-779-2927 or cbruen@fchn.org.