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This year’s theme: Lead Free Kids for a Healthy Future

During National Lead Poisoning Prevention week, the New Jersey Department of Health is joining the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to help increase awareness of all lead hazards, educate residents about what they can do to prevent exposure, and encourage parents to have their children tested.

Childhood lead poisoning is preventable, yet approximately half a million U.S. children have blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter. In 2017, more than 200,000 New Jersey children were tested for lead exposure. Approximately 4,800 New Jersey children were identified with elevated blood lead levels (at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter). 

"All pediatricians in New Jersey are required to test children for lead at age 1 and 2 as part of their routine practice, and parents should ask if their children are due for testing," said Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal. “For uninsured and underinsured children less than six years, local health departments and community health centers provide free or low-cost testing.”

The Department currently provides more than $12 million in grant funding to local health departments to support blood lead screening and follow-up services including nurse case management and inspections of affected children’s homes for lead hazards. 

The primary source of lead exposure in children is lead-based paints used on houses built before 1978. About 20 percent of lead exposure may come from drinking water. Until it was banned by the federal government, lead was also used in the solder that connects copper pipes, in pipes used in household plumbing and in service lines that connect houses to the pubic water mains in the street.

State health and environmental officials are supporting the City of Newark’s decision to provide in-home tap water filters to Newark residents whose homes have lead service lines. For those homes that are affected, Commissioner Elnahal recommends that filtered or bottled water be provided to children under age 6, especially when mothers are using powdered baby formula or other powdered drinks to feed their children.

Families who are affected in Newark should take the following steps:

1. Call 973-733-6303 to find out if you have a lead service line. Not all residences in Newark are affected. The Newark Water Department is available to provide this information.
2. If you have a lead service line, begin using filtered or bottled water immediately. “Flushing” – running the water from the tap for a few minutes – will not work in this case. Newark is distributing water filters to affected residents.
3. Get children’s blood tested for lead levels. Talk to your health care provider or the Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness at 973-733-5323.

Last year, the Department revised its childhood lead prevention rules requiring earlier intervention when lower levels of lead are detected in a child—from 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood to 5 micrograms.

Lead can disrupt the normal growth and development of a child’s brain and central nervous system. While lead paint in homes built before 1978 remains the largest contributor to elevated blood lead levels in children, there are many different lead exposure sources, including water from leaded pipes and imported toys, candy, spices, jewelry, cosmetics, herbal remedies, and pottery.

Gov. Phil Murphy issued a Proclamation declaring this week National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. 

The Department of Health also continues to work to increase awareness of lead hazards through its #kNOwLEAD public education campaign, which includes a childhood lead webpage with posters in English , Spanish, Hindi,  and other resources for parents on lead and how to prevent exposures.

A Department of Health fact sheet on lead in drinking water is available at: https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/dw_lead_factsheet.pdf.

More information about lead in drinking water and its health effects is available on by visiting www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-waterand www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/dwc-lead-consumer.html

For more information about childhood lead, visit www.state.nj.us/health/childhoodlead/.

Follow New Jersey Health Commissioner Elnahal on Twitter.

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