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Growing Up Baltimore-Lead Featured on WYPR News

HUD Healthy Home Fall 2009 Newsletter

U.S. Department of Energy Officials Celebrate National Weatherization Day and Promote Green Job Opportunities and Green and Healthy Homes in Baltimore

2009 National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week October 18-24

HUD Announcement: Green and Healthy Homes at the Council on Foundations Fall Conference

Coalition Presented 2009 Child Advocate Award by American Academy of Pediatrics

EPA Lead Poisoning Prevention Video Contest - $2500 - Open to all!

EPA Announces New Steps to Protect Americans from Lead Poisoning

Investment in Clean,Green, and Sustainable Baltimore

Coalition Statement in Response to New Testing Reccomendations

MDE Releases 2008 Childhood Lead Registry Report

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Releases Fact Sheets on Healthy Housing, Early Childhood Development, and Nutrition
13 July 2009 — Three new fact sheets from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America are available to provide you with facts and figures, cost estimates and background on the policy environment surrounding nutrition, healthy housing and early childhood development.

Coalition Welcomes HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims

Lead Poisoning - General

Senate Sends Sweeping Product Safety Bill to Bush
1 August 2008 — "Historic legislation that would remove toxic chemicals from toys and put a more powerful and better-funded cop on the beat to police the safety of consumer goods is on the verge of becoming law."

2007 MDE Lead Surveillance Report

June 2008 CDC Lead Newsletter

Early Show Anchor Moms Against Lead
7 November 2007 — "(CBS) The Early Show is on lead's case. "Anchor Moms Against Lead," our self-styled, anti-lead squad of anchors and correspondents who are mothers or pregnant -- show you why it's so dangerous, where you can find it -- many of the places may surprise you -- and what you can do about it."

Parents Report: Lead Astray
15 August 2007 — It's not just old paint that's poisonous -- this toxic metal can be in water and soil, as well as in a scary number of children's products.

Mattel recalls nearly 9 million toys
14 August 2007 — Toy-making giant Mattel Inc. issued recalls today for about 9 million Chinese-made toys that contain magnets children can swallow or which could have lead paint. The recall includes 7.3 million play sets, including Polly Pocket dolls and Batman action figures, and 253,000 die cast cars that contain lead paint.

Child lead poisoning declines
14 July 2007 — Statistics from the Maryland Department of the Environment show a statewide decline in the percentage of elevated blood lead levels in children.

2006 Childhood Lead Registry Statistics
20 June 2007 — 2006 numbers of children exposed to lead as reported to the Maryland Lead Registry and the Maryland Department of the Environment

China balks at lead limits on kids' jewelry

As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China

Laying down the lead laws
31 May 2007 — 700 properties in Salisbury are not compliant with state reporting requirements

State doles out fines to violators of lead laws
21 May 2007 — State environmental inspectors have a close eye on Baltimore property owners, slapping several with hefty fines for lead violations. “It sends a message to other property owners to get in line,” said Ruth Ann Norton, executive director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning and a “huge supporter of enforcement.”

Baltimore Based Distributor put recalled children's products back into circulation

Good Morning America: Consumer Alert - Lead in Kids' Jewelry

Recall issued for lead-laced necklaces

From the CPSC- Petition for Ban on Lead Toy Jewelry

Blood-Lead Level Basics: What You Really Need to Know
3 October 2006 — Washington Parent Magazine

Unfinished Business
1 October 2006 — Editorial in the Baltimore Sun

City Plans to Ban Lead Jewelry
15 August 2006 — "Declaring that the federal government failed to protect children fom lead, Baltimore's health commissioner has announced plans for a citywide ban on the sale of jewelry found to contain dangerous levels of the metal."

Group to get $9 million in DuPont deal has close ties to company
3 August 2006 — "When the state [Rhode Island] dropped DuPont Co. from its sweeping lawsuit against former makers of lead paint last year, one of the terms was that DuPont would donate $9 million to the Children's Health Forum for clean-up and education efforts in Rhode Island."

Why is Lead Still Poisoning our Children?
1 August 2006 — "Lead is gone from gasoline and paint - with surprisingly beneficial results. But lead still poses dangers to kids, particularly in older neighborhoods. In DC, hundreds of children are being damaged every year - and the results will be more school dropouts and more crime."

Lead Testing Reveals Progress
31 July 2006 — "The number of Maryland children with elevated lead levels continues to drop...but health officials warn that more work must be done to reach their goal of eliminating chlidhood lead poisoning by 2010."

Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning

Coalition Receives $1M HUD Grant for Healthy Homes Program
14 September 2007 — BALTIMORE, MD (September 14, 2007) Yesterday, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning as the recipient of a $1,000,000 Healthy Homes Demonstration Grant. This grant will fund the Coalition’s Safe at Home (SAH) program to reduce asthma triggers and asthma attacks by addressing multiple hazards within the home. “This grant will allow us to address the key environmental health threats in a child’s home that can be difference between that child being sick or healthy. This will start us down a path to simultaneously reduce lead and asthma triggers in Baltimore’s homes,” said Ruth Ann Norton, Executive Director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.

Coalition Receives EPA Funding for 'Stoppin Lead in Coppin' Project
14 September 2007 — BALTIMORE, MD (September 14, 2007) Today, the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, in partnership with Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation, Coppin State University and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announce the launch of a one-year, intensive outreach campaign targeted to Baltimore’s Coppin Heights and Rosemont communities called Stoppin’ Lead in Coppin. Last year, 1 in every 5 children tested for lead poisoning in the neighborhoods making up zip code 21216 tested positive with actionable levels of lead in their bodies. Stoppin’ Lead in Coppin seeks to implement community awareness, education and services that will reduce that likelihood and make the community’s built environment safer for families.

Fiscal Improvement
21 May 2007 — Organizations are making up for less government money with increasing donor and client revenue

Comments on the CPSC's ANPR on
8 March 2007 — On behalf of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, I would like to applaud the CPSC on its examination of lead in children's jewelry and urge the Commission to pursue next steps to strengthen federal powers, limit market availability, and protect families...

Coalition's Letter to President Bush Objecting to CPSC Chair Nominee
7 March 2007 — Letter in response to President Bush's nomination of Michael Baroody as chairman of the CPSC.

CECLP IRS 990 FORM 2006

Getting the Lead Out in Baltimore
18 January 2007 — "The Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning held a meeting Wednesday applauding a Baltimore City Health Department regulation that bans children’s jewelry containing more than 600 parts per billion of lead and to address questions about the regulation. The also touted a package of leadregulations they intend to introduce in the Maryland General Assembly later this spring."

Remodeling homes may cause lead poisoning
22 November 2006 — including coverage and photographs of the November 20 Candlelight Vigil.

Laws may need to be changed to meet lead-free homes goal

Candle Light Vigil Coverage of WJZ Baltimore

Lighting a Candle for Lead's Victims

Candle Light Vigil Invitation

Open House at the Coalition
24 July 2006 — Join us from 3-6pm on Tuesday, July 25 at 2714 Hudson Street in Baltimore to learn more about our services, enjoy refreshments and mingle with health and housing advocates.

EPA Renovation Rule Comments
19 June 2006 — The Coalition provided comments to the Environmental Protection Agency on the proposed Federal Renovation Rule.

Demolition bid guidelines issued for east-side project
29 April 2006 — "Moving debris safely and protecting against possible lead poisoning were stressed..."

Program Lends Tech Support to local Nonprofit Agencies
17 April 2006 — "In hopes of further maximizing their ability to manage consituent relationships, eight local nonprofits are participating in the ...first-ever TechOutreach Program..."

Rhode Island wins lead paint trial on second try
6 March 2006 — "'If you have that many kids sick, it's obviously a public nuisance,' said Ruth Ann Norton...'The real issue here is who pays for it and in what percentage. I don't know how you could walk away from a conversation about this situation saying that the paint companies do not bear some responsibility.'"

New lead paint compliance rule takes effect statewide
24 February 2006 — "As of Wednesday, Dante Sweets, a tenant and mother, hadn't seen her landlord take the laws about lead paint poisoning seriously. Last September, her three-year-old daughter, Jessica, tested positive for elevated levels of lead poisoning..."

Lead permeates Plainfield [CT] home
7 January 2006 — "Ruth Ann Norton, Executive Director at the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning in Baltimore, Md., said any lead paint left untreated will continue to pose a threat to the family's health. Exposure in children could bring anything from reading disabilities to aggressive behavior and organ damage..."

$2M HUD Grant Coverage - WJZ

Press Releases

HUD Enforcement Action in Baltimore

Lead in Products Bill Passes Out of Committee

Baltimore City Public Schools’ CEO Announces System-wide
7 November 2007 — "BALTIMORE --Baltimore City Public School System CEO Dr. Andrés Alonso announced a system-wide shift to bottled drinking water for students, teachers, staff, and visitors today. The shift is expected to be completed by Friday, November 9. The re-evaluation of the overall policy was prompted by new testing that found several water fountains that had passed previous tests for lead and were permitted to return to use had subsequently failed."

Spiderman 3 Ring Found with Very High Lead Levels
2 August 2007 — "The Baltimore City Health Department has issued a violation notice to a business prohibiting the sale of a flashing Spiderman 3 Ring ...identified with [high lead levels]"

Newly Published Research Confirms that Visual Assessments Alone Cannot Ensure that Lead Levels in Homes are Below Clearance Values
13 July 2007 — A study published in the scientific journal Environmental Research, by the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) showed that 73% of homes that followed the requirements of 1994 Maryland Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing Law had at least one dust sample that exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s dust lead standards that were in effect at that time.

Baltimore City Press Release on Reduction in Number of Exposed Children
20 June 2007 — Based on the 2006 figures reported by Maryland Department of Environment

MDE ISssues 12 Waste Management Enforcement Actions
17 May 2007 — BALTIMORE, MD (May 17, 2007) - The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)Waste Management Administration issued the following enforcement actions between May 1 and May 14, 2007, with penalties more than $5,000...

Four Children's Products Recalled for Lead Content

EPA Agreement with Realty Company to Bring Proper Lead Disclosure to Baltimore Homes
1 May 2007 — "In a consent agreement with EPA, Continental Realty Corp. has agreed to pay a $6,468 civil penalty and voluntarily perform an environmental audit to settle violations of federal lead based paint disclosure laws. The audit will cover 1,155 residential leases in three of 17 buildings managed by Continental, a large property management company, in Baltimore, Md."

Testing Reveals Items of Children’s Jewelry with Excess Lead

Baltimore City's Lead in Children's Jewelry Regulation
7 December 2006 — "Summary: The Commissioner of Health of Baltimore City is declaring metal components in children's jewelry with excess levels of lead to be a nuisance to publice health."

BCHD - Lead in Children's Jewelry Regulation

BCHD Comment on HP 06-1

Candlelight Vigil Press Release
15 November 2006 — The Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning will orgainize a candlelight vigil on November 20, 2006.

Health Commissioner's Letter to FDA Commissioner

Baltimore City Orders Retailors to Stop the Sale of Hashmi Surma Special
8 September 2006 — The Baltimore City Health Department has determined that products sold within Baltimore City pose an immediate health and safety hazard to inhabitants of the City.

MDE partners with Baltimore City Health Department to help children

Lead Contamination Found in
4 August 2006 — "As part of an ongoing investigation of lead in children's jewelry, the Baltimore City Health Department is warning the public of one item with very high levels of lead that is currently being sold and marketed to young girls."

Maryland announces dramatic decline in lead poisoned children
27 July 2006 — "We are on the precipice of actually ending this entirely preventable disease but we cannot rest on our accomplishments. It is critical that the State and City continue to make the financial commitments necessary to insure that we do not lose this opportunity to remove a major public health problem from our society.” stated Ruth Ann Norton, Executive Director for the Coalition.

Annual Lead Safe Calendar Announced
20 June 2006 — On June 22nd, the Coalition will begin educating 5-13 year old children across the state of Maryland on Lead Poisoning Prevention.

Legal News

Cosmetics distributor ceases lead-based eye-liner
2 January 2007 — 1/2/2007- Maryland authorities have set a precedent in the US after succeeding in their attempts to ban the distribution of lead-based eye cosmetics in the State on the grounds that it could cause lead poisoning.

Obama, Clinton Introduce Legislation to Get Dangerous Lead Out of Child Care Facilities
3 October 2006 — U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)today said that they have introduced legislation that would help protect children from lead poisoning by requiring that all non-home-based child care facilites, including Head Start program locations and kindergarten classrooms, be lead safe within five years.

Four Successive Policies Subject to Lead Paint Claim
2 June 2006 — "A family who suffered lead paint exposure at their Baltimore residence from 1990 to 1993 may be able to recover %1.2 million from the landlord's insurer..."

Lead Advocates urge City to Sue Paint Manufacturers
19 April 2006 — "Lead poisoning opponents and the Baltimore City Law Department squared off Tuesday during a debate on teh merits of using hte courts to recoup the costs of removing lead from city housing..."

Rhode Island wins lead paint suit
23 February 2006 — "the State of Rhode Island won a first-ever verdict yesterday against the makers of lead-based paint, with a jury deciding that three companies must clean more than 300,000 homes of lead contamination and may potential be forced to pay out billions of dollars in damages..."

Baltimore Jury Awards $7M in Lead Paint Suit
14 February 2006 — "A Baltimore jury awarded $7 million to two children claiming to have suffered brain damage caused by lead paint in two homes..."

Medical News

Lead Exposure and ADHD
19 September 2006 — A study examining the association of exposures to environmental lead and tobacco smoke with attention deficit disorder.