[homeles_ot-l] Even slightly high lead levels hurt abilities

[Kelly O'Grady]

Subject: Even slightly high lead levels hut abilities

 

<http://www.projo.com/news/content/Lead_Hurts_Reading_10-30-09_F5G9AQS_v7.39
865a3.html>

 

Study of Providence children: Even slightly high lead levels hurt abilities
01:00 AM EDT on Friday, October 30, 2009 Peter B. Lord Journal Environment
Writer

 

PROVIDENCE - A new study of Providence children entering kindergarten in
recent years found that even those with relatively low levels of lead in
their blood were far more likely to fail to meet national standards for
readiness to read.

 

About half of the students with elevated lead levels, even very low levels,
failed to meet the reading readiness standards, according to Pat McLaine,
who analyzed the data as part of her work for a doctorate in public health
at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

The students' poor performance was similar to the scores achieved by
low-income students in Providence, but the two groups of students are not
necessarily the same, McLaine said.

 

McLaine presented her research findings to educators and medical experts
Thursday afternoon at Meeting Street School in Providence, which works with
some 3,000 students a year from around the state who face educational
challenges.

 

The experts there hailed her work for being unusual - it's rare for anyone
to try to make connections between medical data and educational data, they
said. And, they said it is important because children entering school not
ready to read immediately fall behind other students and often have trouble
catching up.

 

[. . .]

 

The report comes as local housing experts celebrated the fourth year since a
new Lead Hazard Mitigation Law was passed. The law, they said, has been a
success.

 

The incidence of childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island has dropped during
the four years from 6.9 percent to 1.1 percent. Lead poisoning most often
occurs when toddlers ingest dust from the lead paints that were widely used
in the Northeast and Midwest in the first half of the last century.

 

Lead ingestion has been shown to lower intelligence, trigger behavioral
problems and cause a wide range of neurological problems such as attention
deficit disorder. Rhode Island prosecuted two historic trials of lead-paint
manufacturers in recent years and won a public-nuisance judgment in the
second, but that ruling was overturned by the state Supreme Court.

 

As a result of the new law, thousands of landlords have been trained in how
to make their apartments lead safe, and 23,000 rental units were granted
certificates of conformance.

 

"On this fourth anniversary of full implementation, we can say that the
State of Rhode Island has effectively implemented this program to benefit
thousands of Rhode Islanders," Susan Baxter, chairwoman of the state Housing
Resources Commission, said during a news conference Wednesday. She said many
landlords still need to take three-hour lead-awareness courses.

 

McLaine said a big reason she was able to complete her study in Providence
was because the city and state do such a good job of testing children.

 

One surprise was that not all children with elevated lead levels did badly;
some did much better than average on reading readiness tests. It was also
clear that those who got extra help did better. And the earlier they got the
help, the better.

 

But while state levels are way down, McLaine found that hundreds of children
entering kindergarten in Providence each year continue to have elevated lead
levels.

 

Dr. Peter Simon of the state Health Department pledged to do more to help
the lead-screening results lead to more educational help for young children.
Doctors don't want to label children, he said, but if they can link more
screening to more educational help, that would be something to work toward.

 

 

Kelly O'Grady, RN

Executive Director,

The First Six Years

219 Welland St.,
Pembroke, ON CANADA
K8A 5Y5
Tel: 613-735-0717
Fax: 613-732-2859

Email: lead at nrtco.net

Web:  <http://www.first6years.org/> www.first6years.org 

 

The First Six Years is a grass roots organization  whose primary mandate is
the promotion of optimal social, physical, and environmental conditions for
the development of healthy productive children.  We achieve this goal
through the use of  environmental monitoring and surveillance and public and
professional education.

 

We recognize that the first six years of a child's life is an important
period of brain and nervous system development.  Childhood, extending from
the prenatal period to approximately age five years is a time of rapid
growth and development.  This makes children highly susceptible to the toxic
influences of environmental threats such as lead, mercury, PCBs, pesticides
and ionizing radiation.  

 

 

P please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.

 

 

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