NYS Budget Takes Aim at Lead Poisoning

Taking aim at the public health crisis of childhood lead poisoning, Governor Cuomo, in his 2019 budget, has proposed the long overdue lowering of the acceptable level of lead and allocated funds for state and local health departments. As the state with the both the nation’s greatest number (3.3 million) and the highest percentage (43.1%) of its housing stock built before 1950, the houses most likely to contain lead paint, New York is literally and figurately â’home’ to a leading source of childhood lead poisoning. In this report aired on WAMC’s “All Things Considered,” key elements of the plan on how New York is targeting lead poisoning are discussed. We hope that 2019 is the year New York gets the lead out!