The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 500,000 children in the United States have blood lead levels at or above its reference value of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter. Even at very low levels, lead exposure affects the brain’s ability to control impulses and process information. Lead-poisoned children are more likely to struggle in school, drop out, be incarcerated as adults, and by the age of 23 require social and/or homeless services.

It is critical to reduce sources of exposure before a child is harmed. Decades of research have led to practical and effective solutions; the remaining challenge is to implement the solutions at scale. Learn about the important work that has happened over the past few decades to address lead exposure, the holes that continue to exist in making homes lead safe, and solutions to address these gaps.

Moderator:

• Arturo Garcia-Costas – Senior Program Officer, The New York Community Trust

Speakers:

• Alison McShane – Parent Advocate, Detroit Lead Advocacy (DLEAD)
• Morri Markowitz, MD – Director of Lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment Program & Professor of Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore
• Matt Ammon – Director, Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Rebecca Morley – Consultant, Lead Funders Action Network
• Oceanna Fair – Southside Branch Leader, Families for Lead Freedom Now