LANCASTER, Pa. — Lead poisoning can impact anyone, especially children.
“It’s extremely dangerous and one hundred percent preventable," said Carli Bechtold, community paramedicine program director for Lancaster EMS.
On October 28, as part of National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, the Lancaster Science Factory will play host to a lead screening and prevention event.
It’s being put on by Lead-Free Families, a program run through Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
"We advocate for kids to be curious about the world around them and part of that is knowing when there may be danger," said Amanda Bakay, director of programs and communications for the Lancaster Science Factory.
First responders from Lancaster EMS will be at the event, doing free, on-site lead screenings for kids.
“The scary thing about lead poisoning is you don’t see it happening right away but it can cause learning disabilities, it can cause attention deficit issues," said Bechtold.
Bechtold says events like this one are especially important in the Lancaster area, as Lancaster County has the fourth highest rate of childhood lead poisoning in the entire state of Pennsylvania.
“We have a lot of older homes in the city, we have older homes with older paint just packed close together," she explained.
Lead paint was banned nationwide in 1978, but homes built before that could still have issues. Remediation is possible
“I don’t know that it’s easier [nowadays] but I think people are taking it more seriously, there’s more education being provided to families from so many different sources," said Bechtold.
The event is on Oct. 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lancaster Science Factory.
Members of the Blackbirds Environmental Justice Club at Franklin & Marshall College will also be there, offering soil testing.
The first 200 people will get free admission to the Lancaster Science Factory on the 28.
Download the FOX43 app here.