Long Beach Recognizes National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2024

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PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services' Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) is recognizing National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, taking place Oct. 20 to 26, 2024, with a weeklong campaign to educate the community about the dangers of lead and how to reduce childhood exposure to lead through increased lead poisoning prevention awareness. Under this year's theme-There's lead in that? Learn about sources of lead in consumer products-Long Beach CLPPP's campaign will feature social media posts, citywide lead testing advertisements and provider outreach.

"As we recognize Lead Week, we emphasize our commitment to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our children and addressing community concerns of lead exposure," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "Education is key to prevention, and through this campaign, we are sharing important information on the effects of lead poisoning and how our residents-especially our young ones-can avoid exposure to potentially harmful products."

In California, children can be exposed to lead by ingesting lead-contaminated dust, paint chips from deteriorating lead-based paint, and lead-contaminated soil. Other sources of lead poisoning include lead dust brought home on parents' work clothes, certain imported ceramic pottery, painted objects, traditional home remedies, traditional cosmetics, and imported spices, candies and other food products. Additionally, activities that involve lead products such as soldering, making stained glass, and handling bullets or fishing sinkers can put children at risk.

Long Beach CLPPP is dedicated year-round to lead poisoning prevention through health education and advocacy of timely lead screenings of children in the Long Beach community. It provides health education through community outreach events, provider education and parent workshops. CLPPP works closely with programs such as Women Infants and Children, Long Beach Unified School District's Head Start and Child Health and Disability Prevention programs, and other children's programs to facilitate educational outreach and encourage testing. Children who have been exposed to lead receive case management services from a Public Health Nurse who works in partnership with Environmental Health to test homes and provide guidance for lead abatement.

"It's important for parents to ask their child's doctor about blood lead testing as it is the only way to identify lead poisoning in children," said City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis.

Long Beach CLPPP collaborates with the Lead Hazard Control Program, which is a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded program through the Health Department's Environmental Health Services Bureau. The program provides property owners of multi-unit properties with lead inspection and risk assessments and works with lead abatement contractors to remediate properties to be lead-safe for children. The program also works with the Long Beach Housing Authority to monitor Section 8 Housing to ensure properties are lead-safe, as those properties are required to have lead abatement if a child is lead poisoned.

To learn more about Lead Week, people are encouraged to follow the Health Department @lbhealthdept on Facebook, Instagram and X throughout Lead Week or visit the Health Department's CLPPP website at longbeach.gov/clppp for more information. Community members may contact CLPPP at [email protected] or at 562.570.4564.

More information about the Bureau of Environmental Health is available at longbeach.gov/health.

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. More information about the Long Beach Health Department is available at longbeach.gov/health and on Instagram, Facebook and X.

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