Childhood Lead Poisoning brochures and booklets

• Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Lead Repair Grant Program - Free grants for lead repairs up to $10,000 - Call EHW at (216) 961-4646 for more information.
• Protect Your Family from Lead, U.S. E.P.A.
• Lead Hazards and Renovation, U.S. E.P.A.
• Lead Facts for Greater Cleveland Health Care Providers, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and Shaker Heights Health Departments
• Lead Poisoning Prevention Guidelines for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, Lead Safe Living Campaign
• Landlords and Lead: Protecting Children and Protecting Your Investment, Lead Safe Living Campaign
• Lead Poisoning Information for Teachers, Greater Clevealnd Lead Advisory Council
• Cleveland Lead Ordinance, Health and Safety Information, Cleveland Department of Public Health
• Cleveland Lead Maintneance Certificate Program, Cleveland Department of Public Health

• "Test the home, not the child, and eliminate all non-essential uses of lead. The key is to require screening of high-risk, older housing units to identify lead hazards before a child is poisoned - before occupancy and after renovation or abatement." Dr. Bruce Lanphear, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center There is a shared responsibility to protect children from lead hazards:
  • Health and Housing Departments - Promote and enforce lead-safe repairs and renovation. Promote and enforce lead hazard reduction. Home Owner/Landlord - Disclose lead hazards. Safely remove/control lead hazards. Use lead-safe methods for maintenance and repair. Parents/Caregivers -
  • Stop lead from getting in the house from outside (shoes-off and use door mats).Stop lead from getting onto hands and toys (cover flaking paint and cleanup dust).Stop lead from getting into child's stomach (wash toys and hands frequently).
  • Stop lead from getting into child's blood (provide good nutrition).
• EHW and artist Ralph Solonitz developed prompts to help people learn lead-safe habits. A prompt is a cue that reminds us to carry out an action we might otherwise forget to do. We often do not take action for the simple reason that we forget. Prompts are helpful when people are already predisposed to doing an activity and just need to be reminded to do it.

• Lead in house dust is the most common way children become lead-poisoned. Protect children by washing their hands, wet cleaning and fixing loose paint.
• Lead-contaminated soil is common in the Cleveland area. Protect children by covering bare soil and giving them a safe place to play outside.
  • Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home (PDF) / Proteja a Su Familia del Plomo en Su Casa (PDF) [EPA]
  • Fight Lead Poisoning with a Healthy Diet (PDF) / Combata el Envenenamiento con Plomo con una Dieta Saludable (PDF) [EPA]
  • Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home (PDF) / Reducción de los Riesgos de
    Contaminación por Plomo Cuando Remodela su Casa (PDF) [EPA]
  • Lead Paint Safety: A Field Guide for Painting, Home Maintenance, and Renovation Work (PDF) [EPA]
  • Cleveland Department of Public Health - Lead Program Hotline 216-263-LEAD
  • Cuyahoga County Board of Health - Lead Program.
  • American Academy of Pediatrics 10/05 Policy Statement on Lead Exposure in Children focusing on Prevention.
• Lessons and Tactics to Lead the Charge Against Lead Poisoning [Contemporary Pediatrics  4/2004] has recommendations for medical professionals working with children with lead poisoning.  Authors Mark Feingold, MD, and Roberta L. Anderson, RN, CPNP of Cleveland's MetroHealth Medical Center, write that screening three- and four-year-olds, in addition to screening one- and two-year-olds as recommended by the CDC, found many children with lead poisoning who did not have elevated blood lead levels at earlier screenings. 
  

The Link with Asthma

• Both asthma and lead poisoning disproportionately affect poor and minority inner-city children.  And both are related to deteriorated housing conditions.  Why not combine your approach and impact both problems at the same time?
  Lead/Asthma Overview
• Lead + Asthma Project

More Information on Lead Poisoning

• Lead Poisoning - Down But Not Out
• Cleveland Rates
• Cuyahoga County Rates
• Laws and Regulations
• Lawsuits and the Lead Industry
• Putting Lead Poisoning on the Community Agenda
• Preventing and Managing Lead Poisoning
• Too Few Children Tested for Lead Poisoning
• Lead's Damage Below Currently Accepted Levels
• Lead and Asthma
• Difficult Issues
• Lead Dust Wipe Kits
• Links
• Environmental Health Watch Activities

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