Forget the election! Here’s something positive….

LEAD IN THE NEWS

Greetings;

This week is Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and it sure is…

The State Lead in Drinking Water regulation is making headlines across the State, especially way out west. The Buffalo News and the Public, have devoted extensive print to the issue. This past Saturday’s Buffalo News headline detailed efforts local school districts have made to meet the regulation. Dan Tevlock, Investigative Post environmental reporter, has done a series of articles on lead poisoning issues, including two recent Public articles on lead in Buffalo’s water.

The Investigative Post has been a fantastic source of information on the situation in Buffalo, including breaking the story on the City’s new lead poisoning prevention legislation. Investigative Post’s Tevlock reported on WGRZ on new lead hazard control requirements for rental housing.

Lead’s a particularly significant problem in Buffalo, given the amount and age of the housing stock, and the absence of the kind of progress on lead hazard control that’s happened in NYC, Rochester, Syracuse and (even) Utica. Those cities have taken an aggressive approach to dealing with the issue and have positive results to show for that investment. Kudos to Erie County and now the City of Buffalo for stepping up, and to the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo for providing the leadership to finally make this happen.

Nationally, lead poisoning prevention is front and center, especially this week. HUD and EPA are dedicating resources to continued promotion of lead hazard control efforts with special activities and outreach. The National Center for Healthy Housing and the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative are both doing a super job of keeping the public and our elected representatives engaged.

We’re used to bad news, right? Every one of the links posted in this article will take you to a website or newspaper article that emphasized the awful health effects of lead exposure. But that’s actually GOOD news, right? The more attention the subject gets, the more folks will understand the need for and the methods to control exposure, and that leads to a benefit we’ll all appreciate… healthier and smarter Americans.

Take that Hillary & Donald!

It’s EEAsy to Get Smart…attend an upcoming EEA training session:

Be well!