The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host three lead awareness training sessions in St. Louis to reduce childhood lead exposure in recognition of Children’s Health month and National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Oct. 23-29, 2022.
An “Understanding Lead” online webinar will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday October 27 and impacts and actions families can take to prevent lead exposure and lead poisoning will be discussed.
“Training for Contractors” sessions focused on Renovation, Repair and Painting [RRP] firms working on pre-1978 homes to become lead-safe certified under EPA’s RRP rule will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday Nov. 7-8 at the Courtyard by Marriott, 823-827 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63101
“This initiative demonstrates how collaboration between national, state, local, and tribal governments and organizations can protect underserved communities from exposure to toxic chemicals like lead,” said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
“Many communities across the U.S. are still at risk for lead exposure, and we are committed to lowering and preventing it.”
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $2.52 million to the city of St. Louis for use in programs to protect children and families from lead-based paint and home health hazards.
During outreach to 11 area communities in 2021, this EPA initiative certified 282 contractors in lead-safe work practices and educated 245 community leaders and 170 community members with information about childhood lead exposure.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], children from low-income households and those who live in housing built before 1978 are at the greatest risk of lead exposure.
Houses built before 1978, the time before the use of lead in paint was banned, are more likely to contain lead-based paint and have pipes, faucets, and plumbing fixtures containing lead. Many African American persons are at a higher risk of lead exposure due to poor housing stock.
Children less than six years old are at a higher risk of lead exposure. Their bodies are rapidly developing and more susceptible to taking in lead if exposed.
To register, visit https://www.epa.gov/lead
