Lead Paint
Maine's childhood screening rate for lead poisoning is the lowest among New England states, a report released by the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition finds. According to Maine Public, 1,800 children in Maine were poisoned by lead in the past five years. While these children were tested and likely prevented from experiencing further harm, an additional 850 kids were likely poisoned but not identified, according to the report.
"There's still lead paint in our housing stock because most of our housing stock was built before 1978, so we know that our children are living in homes that have lead paint in them," Rep. Victoria Morales said.
While federal guidelines recommend all one- and two-year-olds get screened, the data released by the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition shows in 2017 in Maine, only 55% of one-year-olds and only 30% of two-year-olds got the necessary tests done.
Democratic Representative Kristen Cloutier of Lewiston - one of the highest risk areas - says Maine should follow the lead of other New England states, which have all adopted universal screening. She is co-sponsor of a bill that would make screening a requirement for all one- and two-year-olds in Maine.
The bill would also make it a goal to eradicate childhood lead poisoning in Maine by 2030. The state failed to meet its previous goal of eliminating lead poisoning by 2010.
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