Advocates Call for Action on Lead Paint Right to Know Act to Protect Children Lead Poisoning

Lead in Household Paints Are the Leading Source
of Lead Poisoning for NYS Children. 

Albany, NY: As the 2024 NYS Legislative Session heads toward its close, the Lead Free Kids New York coalition and bill sponsors gathered at the Capitol to urge the State Senate and Assembly to pass the Lead Free Right to Know Act S.2353 (Kavanagh) and A.4820A (Rivera). This bill will require that homes have been tested before they are sold, with testing results given to buyers and to the state. This would give parents necessary information to protect kids from lead paint, and enable the state to start using lead paint data to craft lead poisoning prevention plans, rather than relying on testing children, identifying the problem property only if a child has been impacted. 

There is no safe level of lead, according to numerous federal and global health institutions. Lead is toxic to children and adults, and early exposures can have lifelong health implications. Elevated blood levels in children cause irreversible damage such as: loss of IQ, neurological disorders, behavioral problems including decreased inhibitions and anger issues, hearing loss,  and kidney damage. At high levels, lead is deadly. Lead in adults can contribute significantly to heart disease. This not only creates financial and emotional hardship on families, but on NYS tax payers as well. These ailments caused by elevated lead blood levels can increase costs in health care, education, and the criminal justice system. 

“Lead poisoning persists as one of the most prevalent and preventable environmental diseases in New York, with thousands of children —an outrageous, totally unacceptable number—having elevated blood lead levels,” stated Senator Kavanagh, senate sponsor of S2353. “The Lead Free Right to Know Act, requiring the disclosure of lead-based paint test reports in real estate transactions, is a crucial step towards safeguarding the health of New Yorkers. It would give tenants and homeowners the opportunity to choose homes for themselves and their children that are free of any known lead-paint hazards, and enhance public health officials’ ability to take proactive measures to address and mitigate these risks. I thank Assemblymember Jonathan Rivera for his leadership and partnership in this effort, and Lead-Free Kids for their tireless advocacy and commitment to protecting New York’s children.”

This problem is fully preventable. New York State does not require lead testing for purchasing a property. Due to this, many home buyers do not know if the property they purchase contains lead. Testing a home is only required after a child tests positive for lead poisoning. 

Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, “No family should have to move into a new home while unaware of potential dangers posed by lead paint. My bill will require property owners to conduct lead paint tests and provide those reports before selling or leasing the home. This legislation will give state health officials the knowledge of which properties do and do not have lead paint hazards, and by making this information public, the private market will encourage proactive repair and maintenance to address lead paint hazards. It’s far past time that the state took a proactive approach to protecting tenants and new homeowners from needless lead paint exposure.”

Children of New York State lead the nation in the highest case of elevated lead blood levels. In 2019, 28,820 (12%) children have been diagnosed with elevated levels.

“No amount of lead is safe in our bodies, and children are especially vulnerable. We have, in fact, known this for centuries. The Lead Paint Right to Know Act is just plain common sense - families need to know if and where lead is hiding as they purchase a home, and the state needs information about lead paint in housing, instead of tracking it based on a child that has already been harmed,” said Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director of Clean+Healthy and co-leader of the Lead Free Kids NY coalition. “I thank Senator Kavanagh and Assemblymember Rivera for their leadership on this important step forward in primary prevention of lead poisoning - and urge both houses to pass this law before the end of session.”

Nearly 70% of these lead-poisoned children live in underserved neighborhoods; children of color make up almost 80% of newly identified cases of lead poisoning in children under six years old. This is because 4 million (78%) of New York State dwellings were built before 1978, the year lead paint was banned federally.

 “Albany can no longer ignore the childhood lead poisoning crisis in New York, with our state leading the nation in cases of children with elevated blood levels. Studies show that black children living below the poverty line are twice as likely to suffer from lead poisoning as impoverished white children,” said Briana Carbajal, State Legislative Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice and co-leader of Lead Free Kids NY. “Passing the Lead Paint Right to Know Act will ensure that testing homes for lead happens before a child is put in danger. Parents will not have to wait until their child is sick to find out that their home is contaminated, which is too late to protect them from the life-long harms of lead poisoning, which can range from kidney and hearing damage to permanent neurological disorders.” Since the 1978 ban, many dwellings have not been tested and treated for lead based paint. 

 “The Lead Paint Right to Know Act will give families the knowledge they need to protect their children from lead exposure. Everyone has the right to a safe home. If a law like The Lead Paint Right to Know Act was in place, my parents would have known there was lead in the building and I might not have gotten sick. This law will take us one step closer to ending childhood lead poisoning,” said  Cooper Burkett, age 16, who was lead poisoned at 9 months old and deals with the consequences to this day.

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Lead Free Kids New York is a coalition of parents, teachers, health care workers, advocates, lawyers, and organizations serving children. LFKNY works statewide to advocate for state level policy solutions to lead poisoning in housing and other settings in New York State Communities.