NYC Fails to Inspect 11k Homes Where Children Tested Positive for Lead Exposure
The most common way children get lead poisoning is from lead-based paint. New York City’s Comptroller, Scott Stringer, conducted an investigation into child lead exposure. He found that thousands of children across the five boroughs remain at risk of exposure to lead paint and its severe, irreversible health consequences.
Buffalo and Other New York Cities Continue to Lead Nation in Lead Poisoning Cases
It’s the number-one position nobody wants: despite efforts to reduce the problem, Buffalo, New York City, and other major New York metropolitan areas continue to lead the nation in the number and severity of lead poisoning cases each year.
How Does Lead Poisoning Affect Eye Health?
The dangers of lead poisoning are well-known among New Yorkers, especially if you purchased a home or rented an apartment built before 1978, but the full ramifications of this toxic chemical are still being researched. While most of us understand it can cause brain damage and negatively impact our nervous system, few New Yorkers are aware of the risks of lead poisoning and other heavy metal exposure on eye health.
Study Examines Effects of Lead Poisoning in 9/11 Rescue Workers
Thirteen years after the events of September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center Health Program has begun reporting the results of treating the more than 2,300 New York City firefighters and other rescue workers who sought to aid the injured after the attacks. The results are grim, according to a recent news report from NBC New York.
Currently, the workers who are being tracked by the program have been diagnosed with conditions like cancer, respiratory disease, diabetes, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital recently announced that two more conditions will need significant study in the coming years: heart and kidney diseases, related not to old age in the rescue workers, but to exposure to lead and other heavy metals. The hospital has launched a two-year study of these conditions, funded by a grant from the World Trade Center Health Program.
Four Ways to Protect Your Family from Lead Poisoning
Lead is a heavy metal that can cause serious health effects when it enters the body. Lead particles can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the bloodstream. Because lead has a potent effect on the brain and nervous system, it is especially dangerous for children, whose bodies are still developing.
If you or a family member you love has suffered the effects of lead poisoning from a defective product, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced New York products liability lawyer. Here are four ways to reduce your overall lead exposure and help protect your family.
Lead May Be Lurking in Unexpected Places
Lead is a toxic heavy metal especially in developing children. If exposed to high enough amounts, over a long enough period of time, lead can build up in the body and result in permanent brain and nervous system damage. In large doses it can be fatal.
Most New York families and experienced New York lead poisoning attorneys are aware that old paint, plumbing, and outdoor soil can all contain lead. But other household products can also contain lead even if they don’t appear to be made of metal. Here are just a few items to check in your household for lead content:
Keep Clean and Reduce Lead Poisoning Risks
Lead poisoning costs New York families millions each year. It also causes serious health problems, including problems with neurological development in children. Severe cases of lead poisoning can even result in death.
Although several state and federal laws limit the amount of lead allowed in certain products, including children’s toys, defective products may contain unacceptably dangerous amounts of lead. Lead can also be found in other sources in the environment, including old plumbing, old paint, and other items.
If you or someone you love is injured by lead poisoning, don’t hesitate to contact a New York personal injury attorney with experience protecting those injured by defective products. Help keep your loved ones safe and healthy by practicing these easy cleaning tips to reduce lead exposure:
- Wipe and mop. Dry sweeping and dry dusting don’t reduce lead particles as well as mopping and wiping down surfaces with a damp cloth. If you live in an older building that may contain lead paint, mop and wipe regularly to reduce lead dust.
Four Ways to Prevent Lead Poisoning in Children
Lead is a heavy metal that can be found in dust, air, soil, water, and some household products. When lead enters the body, it can cause serious illness and injury, especially in children. Young children are more likely to get lead poisoning than any other age group, and they are more likely to suffer serious developmental problems if they do.
Both children and adults may be exposed to dangerous levels of lead during home repairs, from defective consumer products, and in other areas. Here are four ways to help reduce the risk of lead poisoning in your home and keep yourself and your children healthy:
- Fix peeling paint safely. Old paint is a common source of lead in the home. Before you fix old, peeling paint, close off the work area with plastic sheeting and tape, and use wet scraping or wet sanding to trap dust particles that may contain lead. Keep children away from work areas until they are fully cleaned.
Lead Poisoning Risks Continue to Plague New York Neighborhoods
According to The New York Times, despite a dramatic decrease in cases of lead poisoning in young children, the hazards are far from eliminated in many New York homes. Lead-based paint is still found in many older, poorly maintained buildings due to lack of compliance among landlords and homeowners, particularly in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens.
For a 26-year-old mother in Staten Island, the risk of lead poisoning became very real when she learned son, 2, had more than twice the level of lead deemed dangerous by the federal government in his system. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspected the woman’s apartment in Port Richmond following the toddler’s diagnosis and found 23 out of 154 positive readings for lead in the walls and windowsills.