{"id":16094,"date":"2025-10-22T08:34:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T12:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=16094"},"modified":"2025-10-22T08:34:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T12:34:35","slug":"central-shenandoah-health-district-reminds-residents-about-lead-poisoning-hazards","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-reminds-residents-about-lead-poisoning-hazards\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Shenandoah Health District Reminds Residents About Lead Poisoning Hazards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>October 20, 2025<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Rachel Dumene, <u><a href=\"mailto:Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov\">Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/u>, 540-480-4998<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Central Shenandoah Health District Reminds Residents About Lead Poisoning Hazards<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 19-25<\/em><\/p>\n<p>STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/lead-prevention\/php\/nlppw\/index.html\">Lead Poisoning Prevention Week<\/a><\/u>\u00a0is October 19-25. The Central Shenandoah Health District (CSHD) is committed to educating the community about lead poisoning. Childhood exposure can be reduced if families can recognize and lessen lead hazards within the home.<\/p>\n<p>Lead is a highly toxic and naturally occurring metal found in the environment. Lead can cause <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/lead-prevention\/symptoms-complications\/index.html\">negative health effects<\/a><\/u>. Even low levels of lead in blood are associated with developmental delays, behavioral issues and attention and learning problems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no safe blood level of lead,\u201d says Dr. Allison Baroco, Acting Health Director for CSHD. \u201cIt\u2019s important to take any elevated levels seriously to help identify and remove the source of exposure, especially for children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/lead-prevention\/communication-resources\/prevent-lead-poisoning-in-children.html\">Common sources of lead exposure<\/a><\/u>\u00a0include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Paint <\/strong>found in houses built before 1978.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Soil <\/strong>surrounding old buildings or near airports, highways, or factories.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Water <\/strong>from lead pipes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Certain jobs and hobbies.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Consumer products <\/strong>including some imported toys, jewelry, spices, candies, and medicines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most children with elevated blood lead levels will not have any physical symptoms. Higher blood levels can cause headaches, irritability, hearing loss and abdominal pain. If you are concerned about potential lead exposure should talk to your health care provider about testing. A <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/lead-prevention\/testing\/index.html\">blood lead test<\/a><\/u>\u00a0is the only sure way to determine if a child has been exposed to lead.<\/p>\n<p><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/leadsafe\/information-for-parents\/\">Simple prevention measures<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to reduce the risk of exposure include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cleaning <\/strong>floors and surfaces regularly using wet methods.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Washing <\/strong>children\u2019s hands, toys, and bottles often.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Preventing <\/strong>children from playing in bare soil.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Removing <\/strong>shoes before entering the home.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Preparing <\/strong>nutritious meals high in calcium, iron, and vitamin C.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Using <\/strong>cold tap water for cooking and drinking.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keeping <\/strong>paint intact and undisturbed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Virginia Department of Health recently introduced a <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/meet-chip-virginias-new-alligator-mascot-on-a-mission-to-tackle-hidden-lead-hazards\/\">new public education campaign<\/a><\/u>\u00a0aimed at helping families recognize and reduce lead hazards in their homes. The campaign features an alligator mascot named \u201cChip,\u201d who helps people spot a telltale sign of lead-based paint: cracked, scaly surfaces that look like alligator skin.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on how to keep your family safe from lead exposure, visit the <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/leadsafe\/\">Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program<\/a><\/u>\u00a0webpage or contact the Central Shenandoah Health Districts Environmental Health office at (540) 332-7830.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 20, 2025 Media Contact:\u00a0Rachel Dumene, Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov, 540-480-4998 Central Shenandoah Health District Reminds Residents About Lead Poisoning Hazards Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 19-25 STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 Lead Poisoning Prevention Week\u00a0is October 19-25. The Central Shenandoah Health District (CSHD) is committed to educating the community about lead poisoning. Childhood exposure can be reduced if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":0,"parent":12292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1292,195,177,197,577,1296,1293,748,1294,1295,152],"class_list":["post-16094","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-blood-lead-test","tag-central-shenandoah-health-district","tag-chip","tag-cshd","tag-dr-allison-baroco","tag-lead","tag-lead-hazards","tag-lead-poisoning-prevention-week","tag-paint","tag-soil","tag-virginia-department-of-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Central Shenandoah Health District Reminds Residents About Lead Poisoning Hazards - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-reminds-residents-about-lead-poisoning-hazards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central Shenandoah Health District Reminds Residents About Lead Poisoning Hazards - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 20, 2025 Media Contact:\u00a0Rachel Dumene, Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov, 540-480-4998 Central Shenandoah Health District Reminds Residents About Lead Poisoning Hazards Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 19-25 STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 Lead Poisoning Prevention Week\u00a0is October 19-25. 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