Gov. Wolf Calls For Universal Lead Testing For Infants
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HARRISBURG (News Radio 1020 KDKA) - Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on lawmakers to enact legislation that would provide for universal lead testing of all infants in Pennsylvania.
Gov. Wolf's call for mandatory lead testing for all children under the age of 2 coincides with the release of the state's latest report on lead testing, covering the year 2015.
Only about 28 percent of Pennsylvania children in that age group were tested for lead that year.
State Physician General and Acting Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine says that's similar to the national rate.
"One of our concerns, however, is that one of the main risk factors for lead poisoning in children is older houses – and particularly, housing units built before 1950 when lead was prevalent in paint and in plumbing. And Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for the number of those housing units," said Levine.
Levine says the cost of mandatory lead testing to families would be covered under the Affordable Care Act.