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Lead Recalls
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June 23, 2008 New!
Wal-Mart Recalls Additional Charm Key Chains Due to Risk of Lead
Exposure
[more]
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June 10, 2008
The
Children’s Place Recalls Camouflage Pajama Sets Due to Excessive
Lead
[more]
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May 30, 2008
QuinCrafts children's jewelry recalled due to risk of lead
exposure
[more]
For a complete list
of recalls,
click here.
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General Lead Information
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Lead
Prevention and Elimination Plans
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Allen
County Childhood Lead Prevention & Elimination Plan
(DOH) [PDF]
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Indiana
Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan
(ISDH) [PDF]
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Lead Screening
Because many children with lead
poisoning do not have any symptoms, the only sure way to
tell is with a blood test. Ask your physician or health
care provider about having your child tested. The Allen
County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program also
conducts free screenings by appointment.
Walk-in screening is available at
the SuperShot Clinic at the Anthony Medical Center on
Wednesdays at 4 - 6 pm. Also, walk-ins are welcome
in the Department of Health's Immunization Clinic, 5th
Floor, City-County Building, on Fridays at 1 - 3 pm.
For
physicians:
Report lead levels to: Patty Easterday, (260) 449-7514
For more
information about the Allen County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program:
Call the Lead Info Hotline at: (260) 449-8600 or visit
www.allencounty-clpp.com
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Local
IDEM-Licensed Lead Abatement Contractors
PLEASE NOTE:
The Fort Wayne-Allen County
Department of Health does not endorse the following
companies; the information is provided for your
convenience.
Lynch and Sons, Inc.
8458 Brookville Road
Indianapolis, IN 46239
(866) 420-3765
www.lynchdreambuilders.com
Tom Hoot Home Improvement, Inc.
13525 Lima Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46818
(260) 637-5856
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Educational/ Training Materials
►For
parents and homeowners
Brochures/pamphlets
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Getting the Lead Out: Preventing Lead Exposure
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Lead Poisoning and Your Children (EPA)
[PDF-English]
[Spanish]
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Testing Your Home for Lead in Paint, Dust and Soil
(EPA) [PDF]
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Finding a Qualified Lead Professional for Your Home
(EPA) [PDF]
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Reducing Lead Hazards when Remodeling Your Home (EPA)
[PDF-English] [Spanish]
Posters
►For
landlords, property managers and contractors
Training class
Brochures/pamphlets
►For
health care professionals
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Frequently Asked
Questions
Ø What
is childhood lead poisoning?
Childhood lead
poisoning is the number one environmental health
threat to children in the United States and Allen
County today. It is a preventable disease that
affects thousands of young children whose brains and
bodies are developing at a very rapid rate.
Ø
What causes childhood lead poisoning?
The most common
cause of childhood lead poisoning is deteriorating
lead-based paint and lead dust found inside older
homes. Lead in soil and water may also contribute to
a child’s elevated blood lead level.
Lead can also be
found in some cultural remedies and cosmetics from
other countries. Lead can be found on some consumer
products—check the “Lead Recalls” on this website
for more information.
Ø Who
is most at risk?
Children under the
age of seven are the most at risk because their
brains are not fully developed and when lead is
absorbed into the blood, it is able to go straight
to the brain.
If you answer “yes”
to any of the following questions, you should have
your child screened for lead poisoning:
-
Is the child
between the ages of 1-6 and eligible for or
receiving benefits from WIC and/or Medicaid?
-
Does the child
live in or regularly visit a ZIP code determined
to be at high risk for lead poisoning? (46802,
46803, 46806, 46807, 46808)
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Does the child
live in or regularly visit a home or day care
center built before 1978 with peeling and/or
chipping paint?
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Does the child
have a sibling or playmate being treated for
lead poisoning?
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Does the child
live with an adult whose job or hobby involves
exposure to lead? (Includes home repairs, auto
repairs, furniture refinishing, firing ranges,
casting lead fishing sinkers, and boat repairs.)
-
Does the child
live near a busy street, an active lead smelter,
or other industry likely to release lead?
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Does the family
use imported or glazed ceramics for food
preparation, storage or dinnerware? Are there
any home remedies used such as tahanakha?
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Does the child
have medical findings consistent with lead
poisoning? (This includes any developmental
delay, speech delay, anemia, hyperactivity,
stomach aches, trouble with being potty trained
or undiagnosed seizures.)
Ø What
are the consequences of childhood lead poisoning?
Lead poisoning in
young children can cause developmental delays,
speech delays, anemia, hyperactivity, hearing
problems, stomach problems and behavioral problems.
Sometimes, adolescents who have been poisoned as
young children have a very difficult time in school
and are less likely to graduate than children who
have not been lead poisoned. Studies suggest that
teenagers and adults who were poisoned as children
have a greater likelihood to be in trouble with the
law later in life.
Ø What
can parents do for their children?
Parents
who answer yes to any of the questions listed above
need to contact their physician to get a blood lead
test for their child.
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If you live in a
house built before 1978, especially one built
before 1960, consider having a lead risk
assessment performed at your home. A lead risk
assessment must be performed by a licensed lead
risk assessor. This risk assessment is meant to
find lead hazards in a house that may be coming
from deteriorated paint, leaded dust, leaded
soil and possibly leaded water. If your child
is diagnosed with childhood lead poisoning, the
Allen County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
Program will contact you and come to your house
to perform a lead risk assessment for you for
free.
-
Do not try to
remove lead-based paint yourself. Removing lead-based paint in an un-safe manner,
such as dry-scraping, dry-sanding, abrasive
blasting, water blasting, using high-temperature
heat guns or using volatile chemical strippers,
can make lead hazards in a house much, much
worse. Some of the highest dust lead levels we
have seen have been in homes where parents did
their own renovations and did not do them
properly and did not clean up well enough
afterwards. Contact the Allen County Childhood
Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at 449-8600
for information about contractors in our area
who are trained in lead-safe work practices or
lead abatement.
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Wash your
children’s hands frequently throughout the day,
especially after they have played outside and
before they eat.
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Check this
website frequently to see if there are any “Lead
Recalls” that have been issued recently.
Frequently, we receive notification that
children’s products such as toys, food and
jewelry contain lead and should be taken away
from children.
-
Call the Allen
County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
Program at (260) 449-8600 for more information
about childhood lead poisoning prevention.
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(260) 449-7126
(260) 449-3010
