It is estimated that statewide, there are still at least 250,000 homes with lead paint hazards occupied by children.
By Veronica Flesher, Patch Staff
NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed New Jersey’s largest state budget ever – a $50.6 billion spending plan that includes tax relief, school aid, and more. It also set aside $170 million for lead paint remediation in homes and apartments across the state in a move that advocates have applauded as a “crucial” step towards ending childhood lead poisoning in New Jersey.
The $170 million comes out of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
While lead-based paint was banned in the U.S. by Congress in 1978, the risk still remains in the thousands of older homes in NJ. Isles, Inc., a state-based organization that emphasizes healthy and sustainable communities, estimates that at least 250,000 housing units occupied by children have lead paint hazards. And experts say that no amount of lead is safe.
Even a low level of lead in blood can damage a child’s brain and nervous system, leading to slowed growth and development, and even learning and behavior problems, according to the CDC. Evidence also suggests that lead poisoning causes long-term damage, the CDC said.
“There is no such thing as a safe level of lead,” said Elyse Pivnick, Isles’ Senior Director of Environmental Health. “Children with even low levels of lead are six times more likely to enter the juvenile justice system, thirty percent more likely to fail 3rd-grade reading and math, and seven times more likely to drop out of school. Tragically, in 2015, 13 municipalities in New Jersey had a higher percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels than Flint, MI.”
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