Wipe Out Lead Poisoning
"October 18 -24 is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week"
" National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 18-24, is set aside to educate parents and children about the dangers of lead exposure, especially lead-based paint hazards in housing.

Lead poisoning is the number one environmental hazard threatening children in the United States -- affecting more than 300,000 children who are less than six years old. Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born, and children who appear healthy can also have high levels of lead in their bodies. The behaviors and rapid growth of children less than six years old make them more likely to be harmed by lead.

The household use of lead-based paint was banned after 1978. Millions of homes in EPA’s Region Pacific Southwest region, which includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories, still contain hazardous amounts of lead in layers of old paint. Such paint can poison children when removed or disturbed by renovations. Children are exposed to lead by eating paint chips or by ingesting lead-contaminated house dust or soil through hand-to-mouth contact..."