Lead poisoning is the number one environmental health issue affecting children under the age of six.  Each year, nearly 1,000 New Jersey children are diagnosed with lead poisoning, while thousands more are diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels.  The children are from every ethnic group, every background and every county in the state.

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It’s a serious concern because lead poisoning can cause severe neurological problems, including loss of IQ points, hyperactivity, learning disorders and even loss of hearing. The main source of the problem is deteriorating lead-based paint. It’s an issue all over New Jersey because our state has some of the oldest houses in the nation.   

What can you do to keep your children safe?  That’s the focus of the original NJN television special, Lead Alert: Playing with Poison. Hosted by NJN’s Emmy Award-winning Health & Medical  Correspondent, Sara Lee Kessler, Lead Alert explores how to identify lead problems and what to do about them.  Program highlights include a panel of seven lead poisoning and housing experts from New Jersey, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Washington, D.C. Taped video segments feature children with lead poisoning, parents, doctors and home renovation contractors.  Footage for the segments was taped all over New Jersey, as well as in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. 

Lead Alert was taped before a studio audience that asked questions and offered insights.  This program also offers important information about New Jersey’s new Lead-Safe Housing Initiative which provides lead abatement and emergency relocation funds.

Don’t miss this important opportunity to learn if you and your children are at risk!  You can live safely with lead, so please tune in to get the facts.

For more information on the State of New Jersey's efforts to eliminate the lead hazard risk, please visit LeadsafeNJ.org.

Lead Alert: Playing with Poison was produced by Janice Selinger, executive producer; Sara Lee Kessler, senior producer; Wayne Bryant, Jr. and Kate Megargee, co-producers; Cristina Lucuski, associate producer; and Samantha Goldman, production assistant.

Lead Alert: Playing with Poison made possible by The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs "Living Lead-Safe Initiative"