3/23/2016
The National Center for Healthy Housing's lead finding were mentioned in an article by The Bergen Dispatch, published today.
The Dispatch's article, "Pascrell Sponsors Bill to Fund Lead Testing at Schools and Daycare Centers," describes new legislation announced by New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell [D-NJ-09] to "establish a new federal grant program for childcare centers and schools that choose to test for lead."
Earlier this month, 30 public schools in Newark, NJ, detected elevated levels of lead in their drinking water, resulting in a shutdown of their water systems. Water was subsequently acquired from outside sources. Only a few weeks earlier, dangerous levels of lead were detected in public drinking water in Flint, MI, causing a firestorm of controversy and prompting a national discussion about lead poisoning and its deleterious effects.
Said Representaive Pascrell, as quoted in the Dispatch article, “From Flint to Newark, we have seen how critical it is to protect our children from drinking contaminated water. All Americans, and especially kids in our schools and childcare facilities, deserve access to clean water. Our job is to make it easier for the facilities to conduct needed testing by providing funding sources. Exposure at any level is unacceptable."
The Dispatch's article quotes NCHH's lead findings: “According to the National Center for Healthy Housing, childhood exposure to lead has lifelong consequences, including decreased IQ and cognitive function, developmental delays, and behavioral problems. Very high levels of lead exposure can cause seizures, coma, and even death.” NCHH, the preeminent national nonprofit dedicated to securing healthy homes for all, has studied the effects of lead extensively since its formation (as the "National Center for Lead-Safe Housing") in 1992.
This announcement from Representative Pascrell follows Senator Charles Schumer's [D-NY] announcement, made four weeks ago, of a bill to increase federal funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, the details of which are summarized here. Senator Schumer's office also cited NCHH's work in a pair of press releases regarding the bill.
Read the full Bergen Dispatch article here.