Lead Poisoning Prevention Efforts
The CEC has been active in local and national lead poisoning prevention efforts since joining the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning in 2002. This engagement builds on the EHSC’s decades of research on lead toxicity and strong local community interested in lead poisoning prevention. There are many local resources available for information and support on lead poisoning prevention, including through the City of Rochester, Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning, Monroe County Department of Public Health, and Western NY Lead Poisoning Resource Center. This page summarizes the CEC's lead poisoning prevention activities in our community.
Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning
The Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning (CPLP) is an education and advocacy organization comprised of over 500 individuals and community organizations dedicated to eliminating childhood lead poisoning in Monroe County. The UR CEC has been a core member of the coalition since 2002. CPLP’s mission is to provide leadership and advocacy to empower the community and its residents to prevent the lead poisoning of children by creating an environment that is free of lead hazards, facilitates the creation of a system that protects children, creates jobs, and enhances property values.
Rochester's Lead Law
In 2005, Rochester passed a Local Lead Ordinance, one of the first local laws in the country to include lead in proactive inspections of rental housing. Since the law passed, the CEC has focused on sustaining implementation of the law, evaluating its impacts and disseminating lessons learned to other communities. For example, in collaboration with community and government partners, we annually assess implementation of the lead law, outcomes of housing inspections, and geographic distributions of lead poisoning cases. Rochester City government staff and CPLP have used results of these analyses in decisions about implementing and amending the lead law.
Local lead Resources
The CEC, CPLP, and others have produced numerous reports and publications to promote learning from Rochester’s experiences.
Building Community Capacity for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalitions in New York State
(Jan - Dec 2008)
(FORMERLY TITLED: Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalitions in New York State)
This project, conducted by the CEC in 2008, leveraged the Environmental Health Sciences Center’s and Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning’s local lead poisoning prevention experience to build community capacity and foster lead coalitions in three upstate counties with high lead risk: Cayuga, Chemung, and Oneida. This project was funded by a one-year grant from the New York State Health Foundation.