The City’s Health Department is kicking off National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW Oct. 22-28) one day early with its last free lead testing event of 2023. The testing for kids 6 and under and pregnant women will be held at the Camden Collective fall event this Saturday at 4150 Dupont Ave. N., from 2-4:30 p.m.
2023 lead events
The City’s lead team partnered with Leadie Eddie throughout the year to bring lead testing and education events to Minneapolis communities. To date:
- The Health Department hosted 20 lead education events
- 398 children received a blood-lead test with help from Leadie Eddie
- 70 families received in-home visits to evaluate their homes for lead hazards
- 25 families enrolled into the City’s lead grant program
Lead poisoned children decreasing
The city has seen a significant decrease in lead poisoned children this year. The 63 cases to date are significantly down from 2022 (112). In Minneapolis, a 15-year snapshot shows a 77.8% decrease in lead poisoned children from 2008 to 2022.
The decrease can be attributed to education, lead prevention services and new programming to find lead hazards. Health Department staff conducted a record number of rental property preventative inspections in 2023.
“These numbers are moving in the right direction, but there is more work to be done in communities at a higher risk for lead exposure,” said Alex Vollmer, Minneapolis Health Department’s Lead and Healthy Homes manager. “We do not want our children serving as lead detectors, so will continue to focus on prevention through education of lead prevention services.”
Lead in the home
A common cause of lead exposure is from dust in homes built before 1978, the year the federal government banned consumer use of lead-based paint. About 75% of lead poisoning cases come from rental properties which tend to be rented to families that have low incomes and are disproportionately families of color, according to the Health Department.
Facts around lead
- No safe blood-lead level in children has been identified.
- Lead is toxic, especially in young children.
- Children younger than 6 years of age are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure. Talk to your health care provider about getting your child tested for lead.
- Lead can be found inside and outside the home.
- Windows, porch floors and other impact services create the most risk for lead exposure
- Get your paint tested in you live in a house built before 1978.
- Lead may also be brought into the home on work clothes, shoes, hair, and pets.
- A blood test is the best way to find out if a child has lead poisoning.
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