Making sure you and your family are safe from the harmful effects of lead is the goal of a program returning to Door County Public Health for the first time since 2020. The agency will again offer blood testing to those primarily 12 and 24 months old to see if they have been exposed to lead. It is critical for children to get tested since long-term exposure to lead can alter brain and nervous system development. Since you may not know what is under all the layers of paint or floating around in your water at home, exposure to lead may be happening without you knowing it. This is especially true if you live in an older home where 69 percent of homes built between1940 and 1959 and 87 percent of homes built before 1940 used lead-based paints. Door County Public Health Nurse Katie Van Laanen says there are some symptoms to look for and some things you should do if you believe you are being exposed to lead.

This week is considered to be National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. The World Health Organization said in 2021 that nearly half of the two million lives lost worldwide in 2021 due to chemical exposure were because of lead.