New Haven Health Department, Yale, to teach about lead poisoning at upcoming event

NEW HAVEN — The New Haven Health Department’s Bureau of Environmental Health and Yale Lead and Healthy Homes Program will hold the 13th Annual Lead Awareness Picnic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 9 in the Lighthouse Point Park Carousel Building.
“This interactive community event aims to educate local families about childhood lead poisoning prevention through discussion, educational giveaways and entertainment,” according to a release.
City Environmental Health Director Paul Kowalski, representatives of the Health Department, the Yale Lead and Healthy Homes Program, other service agencies and local entertainers will provide lead poisoning prevention information designed to teach parents and children how to reduce the risks of this serious and preventable illness, the release said.
Health Department staff will be on site to answer questions and educational materials, giveaway items and refreshments will be available, the release said.
The release also noted that an estimated 890,000 children between the ages of 1 and 5 live with elevated blood lead levels in the United States. Local health care providers reported that 154 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels in New Haven in 2012, 50 of whom had moderate to high levels (greater than or equal to 15 micrograms per deciliter of blood), the release said. “Elevated levels of lead in developing children can lead to an impaired ability to learn, increased hyperactivity, a lack of concentration, neuropsychological deficits and major organ failure,” the release said.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.  Photo by Peter Casolino shows children playing at the park.