From Clean Water Action (http://www.cleanwateraction.org/):
Thanks to your help we were able to unanimously pass in the State Senate SB 522 which addresses a gap that according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health has left 68% of Pennsylvania children under the age of 2 without getting tested for lead. The bill is now currently before the State House. Email your state representative TODAY at https://cleanwater.salsalabs.org/pa-action-state-legislation-lead-june-2022/index.html! Tell them to take up SB 522 this fall and finally pass a statewide universal childhood blood lead level testing policy.
Children all across Pennsylvania are at risk of exposure through lead paint in old housing units, aging infrastructure leaching lead into our drinking water and soil contamination from demolished industrial sites. Exposure can cause developmental disorders, including lowered IQs and violent behavior.
It’s no wonder that universal blood lead level testing has been endorsed by a State Senate Task Force on Lead Exposure, Governor Wolf and leading medical professionals across Pennsylvania, like Dr. Kevin C. Osterhoud of The Poison Control Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Osterhoud said, “Testing all children will more accurately define the scope of the childhood lead poisoning problem, alert policymakers and health officials to lead-laden communities, and protect future children from acute exposure.”
This is the closest we’ve come in 5 years to adopting and implementing a comprehensive statewide lead-poisoning prevention strategy that will help us identify children who have been exposed and intervene. If we don’t do it NOW, we’ll have to start the process all over again in 2023. The urgency of the situation means we need your help in making it a priority for the State House when they return in September. Contact your state representative to urge support and movement of SB 522!
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