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Aims & Objectives of the LEAD Group
Aims:
- to eliminate childhood and foetal lead poisoning
within one decade, starting now (tick. tick. tick.... )
- to reduce the exposure to lead of all organisms by
reducing a) future lead pollution such as from industry and lead in
petrol; b) the effects of past lead uses such as in paint; c) the
effects of current lead contamination.
Objectives:
1.0. to convince the National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC) to change, at the June 1993 meeting, from
recommending a blood lead 'level of concern' of 25 µg/dL (micrograms
per decilitre) to recommending blood lead standards in line with the US
Centers for Disease Control's intervention levels 10 µg/dL to spark
community prevention activities, and 15 µg/dL as the intervention level
for individual children.
2.0. to convince employers in lead and lead-related
industries, and government agencies dealing with them, to foster
responsible employment practices in accord with the principles of
ecologically sustainable development and the rights of all workers,
their children and future children to protection from the health
hazards of the working environment.
3.0. to raise awareness among parents and health care
providers, and/or to bring about legislative and policy changes, in
order to achieve targeted- blood lead screening of all 'at risk'
12-48month-old children by the end of 1994. Knowing a child's blood
lead level provides the motivation for lowering it.
4.0. to raise awareness within the community and the
various environment protection agencies, and/ or to bring about
legislative, policy and behavioural changes in order to achieve
3-monthly average air lead levels on major roadways and adjacent to
stationary point sources of lead emissions, below 1.0 µg/m3 by 1995 and
below 0.5 µg/m3 by 2000.
5.0. to convince environment protection agencies:
5.1. to lower the maximum allowable lead content of
leaded petrol to 0.3 g/L immediately, in line with the 1983 Victorian
standard and to 0.15 g/L in line with Europe, by June 1993;
5.2. to organise the public education campaign
required to achieve parts a), b) and c) of the second aim above, by for
instance, informing motorists who unnecessarily use leaded petrol, why
they should convert to unleaded petrol or other fuels, informing
employees in all lead related industry how to prevent lead poisoning in
their children.
5.3. to train and provide as a service to householders
and proprietors of premises frequented by young children,
environmental health officers to perform environmental sampling and/or
interpretation of the results in order to list what steps should be
taken to reduce the risks of lead exposure for children at that
property;
5.4. to facilitate the assessment of the efficacy of
products and processes which claim or are perceived to aid in lead
hazard abatement;
5.5. to oversee the training of lead abatement workers
and inspectors;
5.6 to ban or otherwise
eradicate the use of unsafe lead paint removal
practices and other practices which may increase lead hazards (eg
indiscriminate dumping of sump oil from leaded petrol cars);
5.7. to limit new uses of lead and facilitate research
into replacements for current uses;
5.8. to maintain a register of lead-contaminated
domestic and childcare properties as well as parks, and ensure that
contaminated sites have their lead risks abated before sale of the
property;
5.9. to map the information contained in such a
register, as well as all other: available information on past and
present land use (eg the locations of premises licensed to emit lead)
for use in directing resources for testing for other contaminated sites
and for blood lead screening of preschoolers;
5.10. to oversee the purchase and hire to the public
of lead testing and abatement equipment.
5.11. to fund a Lead Information Centre and
counselling service for parents in the Central and Southern Sydney Area
Health Service, operated by the LEAD Group.
6.0. to convince health agencies:
6.1 to train paediatric health care providers to ask
parents at each visit about any changes in their child's behaviour or
circumstances which may increase the chi ld' s lead poisoning risk (eg
child has started to crawl, or was present during removal of carpet) and
by informing parents of the appropriate nutritional, hygiene,
housekeeping, gardening and renovating measures required to reduce
the risks of lead poisoning;
6.2 to achieve the goal of universal blood lead
screening of all 6-72-month-old children by the year 1995;
6.3 to produce educational material which supports the above objectives,
for dissemination by doctors (through liaison with continuing
education authorities, curriculum development units, doctors'
organisations and media aimed at doctors), early childhood centres,
day-care centres, playgroups, Nursing Mother's Association groups,
antenatal classes, local councils (similarly through organisations which
have input into these groups such as the Australian Institute of
Environmental Health, Australian Community Health Association,
Kindergarten Union Children's Services, local government etc, and
through the media aimed at these groups).
6.4 to investigate other sources of lead exposure with
a view to legislating against them or otherwise lessening their effects.
For example, to investigate the level of lead in packaging and its
contribution to heavy metal fallout around municipal incinerators.
7.0 to convince health and environment protection
agencies to cooperate:
7.1 to set up lead task forces which steer lead
poisoning prevention activities and further research, with the
involvement of community groups and;
7.2 to set up and operate community lead centres to
carry out the relevant above objectives.
7.3 to form a strategy to achieve the
elimination of
childhood and foetal lead poisoning
within one decade
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