Working to Get the Lead Out of our Kids!

The Greater Upper Valley Integrated Services Team (GUVIST) has recently convened a Lead Poisoning Prevention Network to explore ways to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in the Upper Valley.  Membership includes representatives from the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), The Vermont and New Hampshire WIC Programs, Little Rivers Health Care, Gifford Health Care, the NH Lead Prevention Program, Vermont’s Healthy Homes Program, and the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP). 

Lead Exposure is Dangerous at Any Level

Lead is a dangerous metal, especially when ingested by children, and there is no safe level of lead in the body.  Though lead paint was banned in 1978, the most common childhood exposure to lead in the United States remains from old peeling paint, paint dust, and contaminated soil, since toddlers are quick to put objects in their mouths.  Occasionally, lead is detected in imported foods and children’s toys, like in a recent scare regarding lead found in some cinnamon products.  Lead can also contaminate drinking water through plumbing systems containing lead pipes, solders, and fittings. 

Children aged 1 and 2 years old are required to be tested for lead by both Vermont and New Hampshire law.  Testing can be by a finger prick for blood or drawing blood from a vein.  

Too Many Children Go Untested

2022 data from the Vermont Department of Health for the 22 towns of the White River Junction District revealed a concerning 29% of children tested positive for some amount of lead in their blood.  Nearly 1 in 13 Upper Valley children have lead levels high enough (over 3.5 micrograms per deciliter) for VDH to offer home visits to families to investigate for sources of lead. Still, about 1 in 8 of our region’s 1- and 2-year-olds (more than 70 children) remain untested for lead.

Lead poisoning can have serious consequences for health.  Very high levels can severely damage the brain causing coma, convulsions, and even death.  In 2000, a two-year old child in Manchester, NH died from exposure to peeling paint from her apartment’s porch.  Lower levels of lead can permanently affect children’s brain development, resulting in lower IQ scores, learning problems, short attention spans, behavior problems, and poor school performance.  Lead exposure during pregnancy can cross from mother to the developing baby and cause reduced fetal growth and premature birth.

How We Prevent the Harms of Lead Poisoning

Early actions of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Network included a summer college intern from the University of Vermont working with area medical practices to optimize lead testing and result reporting.

There is treatment for severe lead poisoning called chelation therapy using medications that bind the lead so it can be excreted from the body, though the damage to the brain and vital organs is not reparable.  There are also some simple precautions our community can take to help protect from lead exposure before harm is done.

This includes efforts like: 

• ensuring parents and medical providers overcome barriers to testing all children at age 1 and 2 
• removing lead-containing items from the home, including lead paint, which requires specialized certification and equipment
• painting over old paint and installing plastic bite-guards to windowsills to help keep lead away from toddlers 
• removing lead from drinking water – several years ago, the Vermont Department of Health assisted schools and childcare facilities to test drinking water sources and replace faucets or plumbing if these were found to be sources of contamination 
• supporting federal and state policies which help ban lead in common products such as paint, gasoline, ammunition, wheel weights, and fishing weights, and improve workplace safety for workers who work with lead

Taking the Next Steps

In the coming months, the GUVIST Lead Poisoning Prevention Network will take a multifaceted approach to strengthen prevention efforts across the border: streamlining communication between clinics and state registries for accurate reporting, expanding our network to partners with wide reaches such as town leaders and schools, lowering barriers to testing so parents can make well informed decisions for their child, and supporting providers with best practices around lead testing. All of these efforts will continue to increase testing rates, raise awareness of the importance of lead testing, and explore ways for communities to make the home environment safer. With a collective approach to lead poisoning prevention, our partners will make an impact in getting the lead out of our kids.