HUD Marks National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

Despite the important focus on COVID-19, lead safety in the home remains a high priority for all Americans. HUD has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and additional partners, in highlighting this issue during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW) 2020, which runs from Oct. 25 - 31.

Lead can be found in many things, but the main hazard to young children is from lead paint in homes built before 1978. Adults and children can become lead poisoned, but children experience a greater degree of harm due to their developing bodies and brains.

“National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is one of our most important educational campaigns,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “Many residents and maintenance workers don’t know the risks when performing renovations and lead repair work in older homes. By providing families, public housing staff, contractors, and others with this basic information we can eliminate lead-related health hazards and protect American families.”

To help commemorate the week, the federal partners released a comprehensive digital toolkit, which can be found here.