Why It Matters

*Lead can harm your child. Lead Poisoning can make it hard for your child to learn, pay attention, and behave.  Most Children who have lead poisoning do not look or act sick.  The only way to know if your child has lead poisoning is for them to get a blood test for lead.

*Lead poisoning can cause lower IQ, hyperactivity (mimicking ADHD), learning disabilities, hearing problems and in high levels can cause convulsions, coma, and death.  

*Lead-based paint is the leading cause of lead poisoning. The federal government banned lead in residential paint products in 1978, but more than 80% of Battle Creek’s housing stock was built before 1978.

*Children under the age of 6 years old are at greatest risk because they are growing rapidly and because they tend to put their hands or other objects into their mouths.  

*Children are at risk of lead poisoning if they live in a house or visit a home/daycare built before 1978 that has paint that is chipping, peeling, cracking or chalking. Lead in paint, house dust and soil is harmful to a child’s health.

*In 2015, less than 24% of Calhoun County’s Children under 6 received Lead Testing.  Over 4% of those children tested were at or above the CDC’s action level of 5µg/dl. 

_{Reference:  Calhoun County Lead Poisoning Prevention Task Force, “Get The Lead Out” report, Oct. 2016}