Free Certifications offered by Lead and Healthy Home programs at the Chautauqua County Health Department.
What’s the Big Deal about Lead?
Lead and Healthy Homes staff hear it often: “I thought lead wasn’t a problem anymore.”
In communities like ours, this could not be further from the truth.
- Every year, approximately 60 children are poisoned in the Jamestown 14701 zip code alone.
- Chautauqua County has the 6th highest rate of lead poisoning in all of NYS.
- Over 8 out of 10 homes in the western southern tier of NYS were built before the ban on lead paint took effect. The older the home, the more likely it is to have lead paint.
The Big Deal about lead is the effect it can have on the human body, especially in young children. Ages 1 to 2 is when kids are spending a lot of time crawling, pulling themselves up on things, and playing on the floor. It’s also when they seem to put everything in their mouth. These normal developmental stages can have tragic consequences when lead dust and lead paint are present.
- Lead in a small child’s body can cause anything from a loss of IQ points to ADHD to severe permanent learning disabilities to death. The damage is irreversible.
- Childhood exposure to lead makes it LESS likely that they will graduate from high school and MORE likely to end up in the criminal justice system.
- In adults, high levels of lead can cause health problems like high blood pressure, kidney disease, loss of sex drive, and fatigue.
Most children and adults with lead poisoning don’t look or feel sick when they are being exposed – the consequences come later. This makes preventing lead exposure critically important, and our contractor workforce plays a key role in ensuring that children are not lead poisoned during or after renovations or repairs.
Any worker disturbing more than 6 sq. ft. of a painted surface is required by the EPA to be Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) certified. Contractors can often get this RRP certification, along with lead abatement worker and supervisor certifications, at no charge through their local county lead poisoning prevention programs.
Don’t take a chance on lead poisoning. Learning and following lead-safe work practices protects you, your customers, and your business.
For more information and to register for classes call:
716-753-4764
Outside of Chautauqua County?
Contact your local health department for info in your area.
