New Worries from Lead Paint in Older Homes - Lead in Children's Alpplesauce

A stark reminder - Know where your food is from, whenver possible!!

CARMEL – Putnam County Health Department public health nurses are monitoring the blood levels of nearly a dozen children exposed to lead after consuming a specific brand of cinnamon applesauce pouches. 

Eating the contents of those contaminated pouches caused exposures nationwide and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall to remove the remaining products from the store shelves.

County Commissioner of Health Dr. Michael Nesheiwat explained that “lead is toxic to humans and can affect people of any age or health status.” He said poisoning by this heavy metal is “100 percent preventable.”

Dr. Nesheiwat noted the health risk was “most concerning with childhood exposure because it can have lifelong, adverse effects. Children’s bodies are rapidly developing, and they are more susceptible to absorbing lead when exposure occurs. There have been well-documented consequences in children, including slowed growth, learning and behavioral issues, hearing and speech problems, and lowered intelligence, resulting from damage to the brain and nervous system.”

Ingesting lead from contaminated food is not the only way children can be exposed to this toxic metal. 

Dr. Nesheiwat said housing built before 1978 can present another risk. That was the year the federal government banned lead paint. 

Homes built before the ban are common across Putnam County. Some neighborhoods, including historic areas in the villages of Brewster and Cold Spring, may be at greater risk where the housing is mostly pre-1978 and in need of repair. 

The commissioner said those areas “may attract low-income populations, setting the stage for health disparities related to the social determinants of health. Older housing may also have lead pipes, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures, so contaminated water may pose another health issue. With lead paint, if it is left undisturbed, it poses minimal risk. Renovation work on the other hand can expose the contaminated paint and cause problems. That is why before any renovations get started, residents are urged to consider testing for lead, especially if there are young children living in the home.”

Children are more likely to become exposed due to lead paint because they often play on the floor where lead dust settles. “They put their hands in their mouths, transferring and swallowing any lead dust with which they may have come in contact,” said Nesheiwat.

Activities such as sanding, cutting, replacing windows and others can create lead dust and chips, harmful to both adults and children. An inspection and assessment of all home surfaces can determine if lead paint is present and if so, what hazard level the paint presents.

Putnam County Health Department officials have developed a series of brochures detailing the dangers of lead-based paint on children which are being distributed by building inspectors in municipalities to those seeking permits to renovate existing structures.

Source: Mid-Hudson News