Latest news with #Trimarco

Boston Globe

Lead poisoning in children jumps 42.8 percent in N.H., health department report finds

The actual number of children affected could be even higher, since not all children were tested. The report said that about 76 percent of 1-year-olds were tested, while 69 percent of 2- year-olds received testing in 2023, the latest year for which data is available. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Rates of lead poisoning were twice as high among low-income families insured by Medicaid. Advertisement Heidi Trimarco, a staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation who advocates for clean air and water in New Hampshire, called the report alarming. She said the spike in poisoned children can't be attributed to more testing alone. 'It is shocking the number of children who are being poisoned,' she said. 'People think this is a problem we solved, but instead, it's a problem that we identified. We know the solution, and we haven't taken the necessary steps to implement it.' Lead paint in older homes is the most common way children are exposed, and is responsible for about 70 percent of exposures in the US. And New Hampshire's housing stock is old, with more than 50 percent of units built prior to 1980. A federal ban on lead in residential paint didn't go into effect until 1978, and Trimarco said the state only investigates and remediates homes after a child has tested positive for lead poisoning. 'That's not good enough,' she said. 'Ideally, we would have an inspection program and a repair program for all of our rental housing so that kids in rental units are protected.' Advertisement She said rental units are often in disrepair and have lead hazards inside. They're the type of housing most likely to be occupied by the poorest and most vulnerable children in the state. The consequences of lead poisoning are tragic, Trimarco said. It can result in Lead poisoning can be diagnosed through a blood test, and while the effects aren't reversible, the level of lead in a child's blood can be reduced by preventing ongoing exposure and removing the source of lead. There's also a medication called a chelating agent that can bind to lead in the bloodstream to help the body remove it, according to the 'Our poorest children are getting poisoned at alarming levels, and it's entirely preventable,' she said. Amanda Gokee can be reached at