Lead Exposure In CT Children a Growing 'Health Crisis'

HARTFORD, CT — The Connecticut Health Investigative Team reports that there are 72,000 children under the age of 6 who test positive for some level of lead in their blood. Even more frightening is the fact 900 children were at levels two to four times what is considered to be poisonous, C-HIT reports. Not every child is screened so these numbers could be higher.

The General Assembly is considering establishing a task force that would hopefully lead to the removal of lead from tens of thousands of homes in Connecticut. A key lawmaker told C-HIT that funding needs to be made available to help homeowners and landlords "tackle this health crisis..."

Why is this so important? Dr. Mark A. Mitchell, an environmental health physician and founder of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, told C-HIT that lead exposure can damage a child's brain and nervous system permanently, which adversely impacts their overall life development.

It's believed that 61 percent of the state's housing stock was constructed prior to 1978, which was when lead paint was banned. Health officials also now believe that exposure to even low levels of lead can negatively impact children.

C-HIT has created a database which allows you to search by each Connecticut community the total number of children under age 6, tested for lead in 2015 vs. those who tested positive at various concentration levels.

>>>To go directly to C-HIT's searchable database click here.