Report on Preventing Childhood Lead Exposure

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, has issued a new report on preventing childhood lead exposure – Ten Policies to Prevent and Respond to Childhood Lead Exposure.  To prepare the report, a team of experts was assembled to evaluate various policies to address childhood lead exposure.  The group looked at the costs and benefits of each approach.  Lead in drinking water was examined along with other household hazards such as lead paint. One of their priorities, based on the actions that would have the most positive effect on blood lead levels, was reducing lead in drinking water in homes, schools and other places that children frequent.  Specifically, “Removing leaded drinking water service lines from the homes of children born in 2018 would protect more than 350,000 children and yield $2.7 billion in future benefits, or about $1.33 per dollar invested.”  The group also highlighted the need for better access to data on lead and lead exposure.
See the full report.
In a related action, the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) produced an “Issue Brief” on the report and its significant findings and recommendations.  TFAH indicates this will be the first in a series of briefs on the report to help policy makers understand the importance of this information.
See the issue brief.