Governor Paterson Accepts Final Report from Task Force on the Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning

October 30, 2010

Governor David A. Paterson today accepted the Final Report of the Task Force on the Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning. The Final Report summarizes the actions taken by the Task Force to implement the enhancements in the Preliminary Report issued last year, as well as the Task Force's recommendations for the future to achieve Governor Paterson's goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning in New York State. Release of this report coincides with National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which is October 24-30, 2010.

"The elimination of lead poisoning, a leading environmental poison of children in New York State, has been one of my highest priorities," Governor Paterson said. "I thank the members of the Task Force for working quickly and diligently to identify and implement actions that could be taken immediately to further the State's efforts to ensure that every child in New York State has the opportunity to grow up healthy. I commend them for demonstrating such strong collaboration in order to come up with sensible recommendations that continue towards eradicating this preventable hazard."

The Task Force on the Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning was created by Executive Order No. 21, issued by Governor Paterson in 2009. Task Force members represent 14 State agencies and authorities having responsibilities in the areas of health, housing, child welfare, community development, weatherization and energy conservation. The Task Force was chaired by Wendy Saunders, Deputy Secretary for Health, Medicaid and Oversight. Governor Paterson charged the Task Force with finding ways to enhance current efforts to prevent and eliminate childhood lead poisoning through increased coordination of activities and utilization of existing resources, including actions that could be taken immediately as well as longer-term strategies.

In its Preliminary Report, released in November 2009, the Task Force recommended nine actions that strengthen current State lead poisoning prevention efforts. The final report reflects the significant actions that have been taken to carry out these nine enhancements over the past year. It also recommends ten additional long-range actions to further reduce and ultimately eliminate childhood lead poisoning in New York State, including:

An ongoing Interagency Work Group to monitor the implementation of the Task Force enhancements and coordinate agency efforts to pursue the Task Force's recommendations for the future;

Coordination across multiple State agencies to develop criteria and definitions for "like replacement" windows that are affordable, energy efficient, appropriate for historical preservation and lead-free, to be followed by a meeting with window manufacturers to challenge the industry to create the desired product;

Revision of the State Historic Preservation Office policy for window replacement in Department of Health-designated communities of concern to enable categorical approval of similar replacements in one- to four-unit homes with lead-painted windows;

Addition of lead awareness information to the $10 million Green Jobs – Green New York (GJ-GNY) outreach and marketing effort, as well as incorporation of the new Federal Renovation Repair and Painting Rule training into GJ-GNY workforce development;

Exploration of opportunities to pilot collaborations between State agency grantees in one or more DOH-designated communities of concern to evaluate strategies to prevent the placement of clients in homes with lead-based paint hazards, unless such hazards are mitigated prior to occupancy. The results from the pilot(s) should inform statewide policy;

Further integration of lead poisoning primary prevention activities into prenatal, postpartum, and early childhood home visiting programs as an opportunity for increasing the number of homes receiving primary prevention visits for lead poisoning;

Continued updating and expansion of the analysis of lead surveillance data to monitor progress in reducing lead hazards and lead poisoning, with an emphasis on the highest-risk communities and populations, and continued implementation and refinement of primary prevention efforts in high-risk areas including providing guidance to local health departments regarding strategies and options for getting into homes for the purpose of identifying lead-based paint hazards;

Exploration of including incentives for Housing and Community Renewal grantees who propose to carry out lead hazard control under future Unified Funding Rounds;

Further consideration by the Department of State of the legislative proposals recommended by the Task Force's Compliance and Enforcement Work Group to improve the current lead disclosure process in New York State; and

Implementation of Title X of Article 13 of the New York State Public Health Law by the Department of Health with the assistance of the Department of State, by encouraging those local governments that are responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code) to pay particular attention, in their enforcement efforts, to lead hazards and by alerting local code enforcement officials to the existence of the Federal regulations that may apply when work is to be performed in a building built prior to 1978.

"While the incidence of childhood lead poisoning is decreasing in New York State, it is time that we eliminate this threat to our children's health once and for all. During these difficult economic times, we must find ways for State government to act smarter, more efficiently, and maximize existing resources, and that is precisely what this Task Force has done," Governor Paterson continued.

Additional details about these recommendations, including specific agencies to be involved in their implementation, are outlined in the full report. More information on lead poisoning prevention is available at the Department of Health's website: www.nyhealth.gov/lead.

The Final Report of the Task Force on the Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning is available at: http://www.ny.gov/governor/reports/pdf/NewYorkStateTaskForce_ChildhoodLeadPoisoningReport.pdf.