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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=26695
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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 4, 2018 02:15 PM
From: Representative MaryLouise Isaacson
To: All House members
Subject: Childhood Blood Lead Test Act
 
Among states with older houses, lead-based paint is a significant source of lead exposure in young children. Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for the number of housing units built before 1950, meaning a significant number of houses and apartments in the Commonwealth were likely constructed with lead paint. This puts many children in Pennsylvania at risk of lead exposure and potential long-lasting damage to their health.

In its 2015 Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Report, the Pennsylvania Department of Health stated that approximately 28 percent of children within the Commonwealth under the age of two were tested for lead. Over 4,000 children, or five percent of those tested, had at least one elevated blood lead test result. Any level of lead exposure can cause great harm to young children; low levels of exposure may make learning difficult, harm hearing and delay development, while higher levels of exposure can cause convulsions, coma and even death.

It is for these reasons that I am introducing the Childhood Blood Lead Test Act, which would require that all Pennsylvania children are tested for lead at ages one and two. Please join me in co-sponsoring this critical legislation in an effort to protect our children against lead poisoning and its harmful effects.



Introduced as HB79