Funding for the CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program have just been cut by 94%. I can not adequately express how angry this makes me. In January, two expert bodies recommended that the level of concern for blood lead levels be cut in half, possibly quadrupling the number of children officially effected by lead and what is the response? Decimate the funding for the CDC's program. The budget for the CDC's lead prevention programs went from $29.2 million last year to $2 million this year. This money goes to local health departments to fund, education, testing, and data collection. It really worries me what this will do to the availability of services. It is already very difficult to get help in many areas and there is much work to be done on the education side of things as well. A recent study showed that for every dollar invested in lead paint hazard control, there is a return of $17 to $221 or a net savings of $181 to 269 billion. That is huge. If we invest in prevention, we save a huge amount of money down the road. According to Ruth Ann Norton, the Executive Director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, kids effected by lead are 7 times more likely to drop out of school, earn less money, cost more in taxpayer dollars, and provide less in tax revenue. Bleak predictions for my little guy and the millions like him.
Resources:
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info:doi/10.1289/ehp.0800408
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/about/program.htm
http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(12)00002-6/fulltext
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/lead-poisoning-prevention-funding_n_1354205.html
http://www.thedailyactivist.com/social-issues-cdc-lead-prevention-budget-drops/
http://leadsafeillinois.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/cuts-to-lead-poisoning-prevention-program-nbc-nightly-news/
http://grist.org/pollution/get-the-lead-out-have-we-already-forgotten-this-lesson/
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