Take smart measures against lead exposure

Representatives Zack Hudgins and Dan Newhouse

Special to The Spokesman-Review
March 13, 2008

As lawmakers, there are times when we fail to see eye to eye on issues before the Legislature. When it comes to issues like job creation, access to health care or spending priorities, we all have the goal in mind, just different playbooks for getting there.

However we may seem to divide ourselves - whether East Side or West Side, blue state or red state - children's health and safety is a unifying concern. Protecting kids from lead exposure is one of the issues where we find common ground. When it comes to lead exposure in children, whether in our homes, our schools or our children's toys, we all can agree that harmful lead must be eliminated.

The ancient Greek Dioscerides wrote: "Lead makes the mind give way." As far as modern-day science, health and child care professionals are concerned, the more data we accrue, the more this statement rings true.

Lead is a toxin with virtually no safe level of exposure for children. A Washington state Department of Ecology report found that, pound for pound, children eat more food, breathe more air and drink more water than do adults. Kids chew on toys, crawl on floors and play in the dirt. Combine that with the potential for exposure with a developing brain and body, and the risk for harmful lead exposure is multiplied.

Lead has been linked to developmental and nervous system impairment, lower IQs, memory and learning difficulties and behavioral problems. For children, this could mean anything from below-par testing results and reading disabilities to more birth defects and higher cancer rates. Treating the symptoms associated with lead contamination adds a cost to our society in the billions.

And for us older Americans? Well, let's just say some of those memory lapses might not be so easily dismissed as benign senior moments. A lifetime's worth of lead exposure could account for a good portion of memory loss and other neurocognitive problems, and possibly the tremors apparent in many seniors.

Yet despite all the evidence, market forces have prevailed in keeping a continuous supply of lead in our homes, our workplaces and our environment. Why? Because lead is a cheap, readily available, malleable metal that can make a necklace dazzle, give paint its color or make a water pipe less corrosive. It's even found in some imported candies, as it has a sweet flavor.

If any good can come from the recent spate of Chinese-manufactured-toy recalls, we can be thankful public awareness of lead poisoning is at an all-time high and parents are not sitting idly by.

Lawmakers across the state - and country - are also taking action. Legislators in our state want to make lead testing available to more kids and provide parents with information on the dangers of lead poisoning.

If we are to assess the extent to which lead ends up in our bodies and turn off the spigot once and for all, we need to analyze the trends and find the source. Only then will we have a clearer picture. Only around 1 percent of kids in Washington were tested for lead last year. We must increase the number of children being screened, particularly in areas of the state where there may be higher cumulative risk factors for elevated blood lead levels. Informing consumers by labeling products containing lead would be an important and useful tool to educate parents on the products that should not be used in and around their home.

Legislators alone can't solve this problem. Parents must be vigilant when it comes to toy and product purchases. Parents must be willing to investigate the products in their homes and provide the feedback we need to create policies on the state level. Parents must ask their personal health care providers for more information about how to eliminate lead poisoning. And parents must take it upon themselves to ensure more kids are screened for exposure to lead.

If you would like to test your home for lead – whether it's paint, toys, dishes, even water - simple and inexpensive test kits are readily available at hardware stores and online retailers, or you can ask your doctor.

Lastly, we need concerned parents to contact their elected officials and let them know they want lead eliminated from all toys, homes and public spaces.