The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program provides education and outreach to targeted populations. The program also provides public health nursing case management to lead burdened children and their families in conjunction with environmental health field investigations.
The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) provides services to the community for the purpose of increasing awareness regarding the hazards of lead exposure, reducing lead exposure, and increasing the number of children assessed and appropriately blood tested for lead poisoning. The CLPPP program offers home visitation, environmental home inspections, and nutritional assessments to families of children found to be severely lead poisoned. The CLPPP provides telephone contacts and educational materials to families of lead-poisoned and lead-exposed children. The CLPPP provides information and education to the general public, medical providers, and community-based organizations. (Visite esta página en Español)
Testing Your Home For Lead
Why should I test my home for lead?
If you have children, lead in your home can cause serious long term health and behavior problems for them. Lead is a hazard to children under 6 years of age in particular. Lead in paint, dust, and soil is a problem for children because it gets in their bodies when they put their fingers, toys, or paint chips or dust into their mouths. Lead can also harm a pregnant woman and her developing fetus.
You should consider testing for lead if there are children in your home and:
- Your house was built before 1978, or
- Your house is near a freeway or busy roadway where leaded gasoline and its exhaust may have polluted the soil with lead.
If your house was built before 1978, it is especially important to test for lead if:
- Your house has peeling or chipping paint.
- Your house has bare soil in the yard where children play.
- You plan to repaint, remodel, or renovate the house.
- A child living in the house has had a blood lead test result indicating lead exposure.
- Your house was built before 1950 - such homes almost always have some lead-based paint.
If you are buying or renting a home:
- Federal laws require the seller to give you an informational pamphlet and to tell you about any known lead hazards in the home. (These federal laws also give home buyers 10 days to inspect for lead. The law does not require landlords to allow a renter to inspect for lead.)
- Contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD for information and materials about real estate disclosure laws and for the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home.
For more information and brochures, please check out the Health Education Materials, available in many languages.