NOTE: Recently we published a press release by Sen. Durbin, concerning restrictions on some products sold to children, in an effort to combat lead poisoning. A reader submitted the following to us in response, which counters the restrictions are harming small businesses unnecessarily
by Catherine Jaime
Mom, Teacher, Small Businesswoman
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) has beenfighting lead poisoning in children for almost 20 years now. And doing a very good job of it, from what I can determine.
For one thing, they seem to be attacking the problem logically and scientifically. One of their first paragraphs on the topic clearly states:
“CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is committed to the Healthy People’s goal of eliminating elevated blood-lead levels in children by 2010. CDC continues to assist state and local childhood lead poisoning prevention programs, to provide a scientific basis for policy decisions, and to ensure that health issues are addressed in decisions about housing and the environment.”
Since its inception in 1990, the CDC childhood lead poisoning prevention effort has:
* Funded nearly 60 childhood lead poisoning prevention programs to develop, implement, and evaluate lead poisoning prevention activities;
* Provided technical assistance to support the development of stateand local lead screening plans;
* Fostered agreements between state and local health departments and state Medicaid agencies to link surveillance and Medicaid data;
* Provided training to public health professionals through CDC’sLead Poisoning Prevention Training Center;
* Developed the Childhood Blood Lead Surveillance System through which 46 states currently report data to CDC;
* Expanded public health laboratory capacity in states to analyze blood and environmental samples and to ensure quality, timely, and accurate analysis of results; and
* Published targeted screening and case management guidelines which provide health departments and health care providers with standards to identify and manage children with elevated blood lead levels.
The CDC has a lengthy document on their website, http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/about/fedstrategy2000.pdf) about theFederal Strategy in 2000 to almost completely eliminate lead poisoningin children by 2010.
Guess what, they didn't need CPSIA to do it!
Since the CDC began its work in 1990, they have almost completely eliminated childhood lead poisoning! Their tips to prevent lead poisoning, which again, not surprisingly to most us, don't include removing their old books, clothes, bikes, etc:
"Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead and treating children who have been poisoned by lead. The goal is to prevent lead exposure to children before they are harmed. There are many ways parents can reduce a child’s exposure to lead. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead. Lead hazards in a child’s environment must be identified and controlled or removed safely. Lead-based paint is the major source of exposure for lead in U.S.children. All houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some lead-based paint. However, it is the deterioration of this paint that causes a problem."
In fact under their FAQ’s, they have a very short list of "Other sources of lead poisoning are related to:
* hobbies (making stained-glass windows)
* work (recycling or making automobile batteries)
* drinking water (lead pipes, solder, brass fixtures, valves can allleach lead)
* home health remedies (azarcon and greta, which are used for upsetstomach or indigestion; pay-loo-ah, which is used for rash or fever).
"What is most amazing to me is that NOTHING on their list of concerns for lead poisoning is being dealt with by CPSIA -- and NOTHING that is being dealt a death blow by CPSIA was ever a lead concern for theCDC!!!
Again, for those of us who are dealing with a law that wants to impedethe selling and purchasing of products intended for children up to age12, the CDC, has a much more reasonable view of who is at risk: * "Children under the age of 6 years because they are growing sorapidly and because they tend to put their hands or other objects intotheir mouths."
And what should we do to prevent lead poisoning in our children.Besides keeping them away from peeling and cracking paint in oldhomes, this was part of the CDC's advice: "Regularly wash children’shands and toys. Hands and toys can become contaminated from householddust or exterior soil. Both are known lead sources."
Again, it is not their books, clothes, bikes, or other items that areexposing them to lead risks. It is the old paint, and the dust andsoil that have been contaminated by old lead paint!Should we be concerned about lead poisoning in this country? Yes. Should we be overreacting and banning items that have never caused lead problems?
Obviously not.
The CDC deals with the question of prevention: *"How your child may be exposed: Lead is invisible to the naked eyeand has no smell. Children may be exposed to it from consumer products through normal hand-to-mouth activity, which is part of their normal development. They often place toys, fingers, and other objects intheir mouth, exposing themselves to lead paint or dust."
So, again, the ingested lead is a problem for children six and under-- if and only if they eat the lead-laden product (possible with anitem such as a small piece of jewelry, but not likely with the handle bars on their bicycle!)
The CDC also points out: "Just wearing toy jewelry will not cause your child to have a high level of lead in his/her blood. However, small children often put things in their mouth. If you have a small child in your household you should make sure the child does not have access to jewelry or other items that may contain lead."
In the federal strategy paper mentioned above, the CDC clearly explains who is at risk (and again, the list does not include 12 year olds!):
"Lead is most hazardous to the nation’s roughly 24 million children under the age of 6. Their still-developing nervous systems are particularly vulnerable to lead, and their normal play activities expose them to lead paint hazards and lead-contaminated dust and soil. Children between ages one and three are at greatest risk because of normal hand-to-mouth activity and the increase in mobility during their second and third years which make lead hazards more accessible to them.
"If Senator Durbin and the others in Congress are concerned about lead poisoning in our children, they should be working with the CDC to help eliminate the small remaining problems, not putting countless businesses out of business because of their overly restrictive, unscientifically based CPSIA law.
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