PROVIDENCE -- One path to protection against lead poisoning may be as near as a store shelf.
"I advise anybody, before purchasing or renting a home, to spend the money" for a lead-testing kit, said Lisa Gruslin, whose 12-year-old son, Tyler, suffers from lead poisoning.
"I could have saved my son," said Gruslin.
Gruslin talked about her son after appearing at a news conference today to mark the beginning of National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which runs through Saturday.
Gruslin, a single mother, joined U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and Joan Carbone, a community leader in the fight to end lead poisoning, in discussing steps families can take to protect their children.
Lead poisoning is a major concern for Rhode Island residents. Although lead-based paint was banned from residential use in 1978, it is still present in many of the state's older homes, often in the form of peeling chips and dust, Reed said. In its ongoing lawsuit against eight major paint companies, the state claims that 35,227 Rhode Island children have been poisoned by lead paint since 1993.
Like many children who suffer from lead-paint poisoning, Gruslin's son has trouble learning. He is enrolled in special-education courses in the Providence school system.
"He will be in special ed until he's finished with school," she said.
Gruslin says Tyler was poisoned 10 years ago when she and her four children were living in a rented apartment in the Spring Lake section of Providence.
Gruslin now works at Home Depot in Providence, which hosted yesterday's news conference and sells the testing kits for $7.97. Gruslin recommends them to her customers.
The kits are effective for testing lead in paint, water or soil around the home, said Chris Bergeron, a Home Depot manager.
Testing kits are available at most hardware stores, said Jeremy Giller, executive director of the HELP Lead Safe Center in Providence. He said the kits are useful, but negative results don't necessarily mean the house or apartment is free of lead. More testing could be required, Giller said. Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reed said, nearly 1 million preschool children living in the United States have blood-lead levels high enough to impair their ability to think, concentrate and learn.
He said, "Despite significant progress in the fight against childhood lead poisoning, lead-based paint remains the most serious environmental health hazard for children in the United States."
