Lead-Free Kids
FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE
A Fun and Educational Event to Protect Families From Exposure to Lead
Saturday June 12 9am – 1 pm
Washington Twp. Senior Center
315 Greentree Rd. Sewell, NJ
Upcoming Event on June 12th!
The Rotary Club of Washington Township, in partnership with our Sustainable Washington Township Green Team, Virtua Pediatric Mobile Services Program, and the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative are partnering on this special cause.
The event is a lead screening event for young children, and it will be held at the Washington Township Senior Center (parking lot) from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Lead is a very toxic chemical which can have serious health effects on young children, especially neurological effects. Children's exposure can be through lead paint, dust containing minute amounts of lead, lead-contaminated drinking water, soil, or even toys. Lead poses such a hazard that there is a state regulatory requirement that children must be screened for the presence of lead in their blood at the ages of approximately one and, because lead is cumulative, again at approximately two years. To catch up on missed testing, health professionals recommend testing children who may not have been tested twice, at least once by their 6th birthday. Unfortunately, this "requirement" is one that is too often missed.
Surprisingly, the screening numbers for Gloucester County, and for Washington Township in particular, are quite low. In the state Health Department's Report for FY 2018, 8.9% of Washington Township's children less than 6 years old had been tested, and by FY 2019, just 10.9% had been tested. Furthermore, the NJ Health Department believes that testing numbers will show a significant decline for FY 20, because many children will have missed their well visits owing to CoVID-19 restrictions.
The Virtua Pediatric Mobile Services Program will perform the testing (finger-prick blood samples) in their fully-equipped van. (The van is 25-ft long.) We will have tables set up for the distribution of information on how to reduce exposure to lead in homes, and some activities and giveaways for children. Parents will be asked to pre-register their children, and we will schedule them throughout the event duration; we are not accepting walk-ins. We will be able to maintain social distancing in the parking lot, while parents and children await their test appointments. (Virtua has prepared markers.) We hope to screen at least 50 children during the 4-hour event, although we will have capacity to screen 100.
Volunteers needed to help with on-site check-in, and information distribution.