National Center for Healthy Housing

Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning Fund

Your help is urgently needed! In December, Congress gutted a critical federal program that protects children from childhood lead poisoning–the Centers for Disease Control and Poisoning Prevention’s (CDC) Healthy Homes and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. In 2011, this program was funded at $29 million. In 2012, Congress slashed the funding to $2 million. Please help us restore funding for childhood lead poisoning prevention by making a donation, speaking out, and spreading the word!

Nearly 450,000 children have blood lead levels above the CDC reference value. Lead poisoning causes cognitive and behavioral problems, such as attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, and many other adverse health effects. Children with a history of lead poisoning are six times more likely to drop out of school. Children with lead poisoning also suffer cardiovascular, immunological, and endocrine effects. Ultimately, lead exposure costs the nation more than $50 billion in lost lifetime productivity.

How can you help?

• Make a tax-deductible contribution to the Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning Fund. The National Center for Healthy Housing, the Lead and Environmental Hazards Association, and Healthy Housing Solutions created the fund to support education of Congress and other policy makers, grassroots activism, and policy advocacy to restore this important program.
   
• Speak out! The Guide to State and Local Advocacy for Healthy Housing explains how you can contact Congress, the media, and other ways you can raise awareness about this important issue. Sample talking points, press releases, and op-eds are included.
   
• Share this campaign with your networks! On Twitter, you can use the hashtag #restorelead.

I noticed my clothes dryer gets super hot and gives off a burnt smell. Does that mean it's time to buy a new one?

Not necessarily—it just may be time to clean your dryer vent.  Lint balls are extremely flammable. Have you seen the Farmers Insurance commercial on dryer fires? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that lint-filled dryer vents cause over 15,000 fires per year. Clothes dryer fires also account for approximately 20 fatalities, 400 injuries, and over $100 million in property damage annually. The leading cause of these clothes dryer fires is a "failure to clean" them. If you have an electric clothes dryer, the chance of fire is 250% greater than if you have a gas dryer.

The good news is that these fires are totally preventable. Learn how to prevent clothes dryer fires in your home.

What can I do to prevent my child's exposure to lead?

Take these steps to reduce your child’s exposure to lead in your home/environment:

1. Keep your child away from painting and repair work that disturbs paint, and make sure no paint chips or dust remain in the work area before your child enters.
2. Pay attention to peeling paint: report it to your landlord if you’re a tenant so that repairs will get made (and call code enforcement or legal aid if there’s no response); and repair it safely if you’re a homeowner.
3. Wash your child’s hands, toys, bottles, pacifiers, and any other items your child often puts in his or her mouth.
4. Regularly clean floors, windowsills, and dusty places with wet mops or wet cloths to pick up any dust.
5. Use only cold tap water for making baby formula, drinking and cooking. Let the water run for a few minutes first.
6. Avoid using products from other countries such as: health remedies, eye cosmetics (i.e., kohl, kajal, surma), candies, spices, snack foods, clay pots and dishes, painted toys, and children’s jewelry. These items may contain high levels of lead.
7. Remove shoes before entering your home.
8. Any household member who does construction work or other work that may involve lead should remove work clothes before entering; wash them separately.

For more information regarding understanding your child's blood lead level, click here.

For more information regarding lead in toys, click here.