HARTFORD – Governor Ned Lamont has signed into law Act 22-49, which will align Connecticut’s standards on childhood lead poisoning with federal standards and help alleviate the associated risks.
The governor proposed the legislation earlier this year as part of his package of priorities for the legislative session, explaining that the state needs to do a better job proactively protecting children from lead poisoning.
The governor recently discussed the importance of the new law during an event in Waterbury, a city where 72 percent of housing units were built before 1978, making the presence of lead likely now or in the past.
Waterbury has embraced the problem of addressing lead in its housing stock over the past few decades by creating a robust remediation program that received $5.7 million in 2020, the largest federal grant possible, for help address this problem.
Governor Lamont emphasized the importance of lead remediation programs like Waterbury’s and a strong partnership between state and local health departments to combat lead poisoning in Connecticut children.
“Childhood lead poisoning has catastrophic health and developmental impacts, including irreversible learning and developmental disabilities,” said Governor Lamont. “In particular, this problem has hit minority families and those living in disadvantaged communities more deeply.
“For too long, the standards for lead testing and treatment in Connecticut have lagged far behind best practices, and I’m glad we’re making these long-awaited updates.”
The newly signed law includes steps that will strengthen early intervention in cases of lead poisoning by gradually lowering the blood lead level that triggers parental notifications and home inspections to more closely align with Centers for Disease Control recommendations of Diseases and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In 2020, 1,024 children in Connecticut had a sufficient concentration of lead in their blood that these organizations would have recommended a home inspection. However, Connecticut law only required 178 investigations.
It will also allow the state Department of Public Health to require more frequent testing of children who live in cities and towns where lead exposure is more common. These changes will ensure that families of children with unsafe blood lead levels receive appropriate educational materials, that these children’s homes are inspected and repaired when necessary, and that the children themselves receive the care they need.
Connecticut Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, said, “The children who are protected by this law are the future, and we need to keep their homes, schools and places of care safe. Harm caused by lead are permanent and we have not done what is in our control to help these young people”.
State Rep. Geraldo Reyes of Waterbury, D-75, chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said, “It’s long past time for Connecticut to more actively address lead poisoning among children, especially a matter of equity Lead poisoning affects black children twice as often as white children and Hispanic children one and a half times as often as white children.
“More than half of lead poisoning cases occur in urban centers like Waterbury, which have an older housing stock and more rental properties. I was proud to co-sponsor this legislation that passed both chambers with bipartisan support unanimous and we applaud Governor Lamont for signing it into law for Connecticut to strengthen its capacity for early intervention.”
The law passed the House and the Senate unanimously. Effective January 1, 2023, except for a provision relating to a Lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment Task Force, which will become effective upon passage.
In addition to this bill, the budget bill that Governor Lamont signed this spring includes $30 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to be used for the management and correction of lead cases
This funding will not only help cover municipal costs associated with the revised standards, but will also help homeowners and homeowners in vulnerable communities undertake lead abatement and remediation projects before a child is harmed. These projects will use local contractors.