Pallone Requests Information on NJ’s Lead Prevention Efforts

In Light of Flint Crisis & Christie Veto, Asks If Additional Resources are Needed to Tackle Public Health Challenge

LONG BRANCH, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), who serves as the top Democrat of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led his colleagues in sending a letter to Cathleen Bennett, Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDH), asking for more information on the federal funding the state receives to help detect dangerous levels of lead in communities. The funds, awarded to states by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are meant to assist public health authorities in identifying high risk areas and implementing interventions as needed. Pallone asked for information on exactly how these funds are used and if additional resources are needed to combat this serious public health challenge.

“It shouldn’t take a tragedy like Flint to remind us of the serious risks posed by lead right here in New Jersey,” said Pallone. “Exposure to lead has lifelong and irreversible effects on our children, and we can’t let a preventable crisis harm an entire generation. We need to ensure that New Jersey has the resources it needs to combat this public health challenge and protect our communities.”

Currently, the state of New Jersey receives federal funding that can be used for lead poisoning prevention programs through two federal grants, both of which are issued through the CDC:

• The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program provides funding to state health departments to screen children for elevated blood lead levels. Through this program, NJDH was awarded three-year funding for lead poisoning prevention programmatic activities in 2014. In FY 2014, the state of New Jersey received $316,643 for these efforts.

• The Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant provides funding to the state to address public health needs at the local level. One of the ways this grant can be used is to address environmental health issues, including assessment of children’s blood lead levels. In FY 2015, New Jersey received roughly $4.4 million from this grant.

Recent reports show that eleven cities in New Jersey—Irvington, East Orange, Trenton, Newark, Paterson, Plainfield, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Atlantic City, New Brunswick, and Passaic, along with Salem and Cumberland counties—have a higher proportion of young children with dangerous blood lead levels than Flint, Michigan. In the last 15 years, a number of U.S. cities have reported unsafe levels of lead in drinking water, and four million children nationwide live in homes that have lead-based paint, which can result in lead poisoning.

Among other information, Pallone requested all grant documents and reports submitted by NJDH to CDC through both federal grant programs, as well as a detailed description of how the State collects data and reports it to CDC. The Democratic Committee leaders also requested similar information from health departments in Michigan, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania—states that have all reported elevated blood lead levels in a significant proportion of children in recent years.

Pallone’s request for additional information on federal funding comes after Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) recently vetoed a bill that would have restored $10 million to the State’s lead remediation fund.

Full text of the letter can be found here.