2012 Nebraska Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act

During the first decades of the 2000s, remediation efforts accelerated in Omaha. The EPA decided to prioritize the removal of the topsoil in residential areas and ordered a replacement. These remediated over 95% of affectedyards. This remediation still could not guarantee children’s safety. There was also lead located inside of the homes due to the past use of lead-based paint and old plumbing systems that used lead pipes. Nebraska lawmakers decided they needed a long-term public health strategy that protected children beyond just soil cleanup.

This led to the Nebraska Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act which was enacted in 2009. The goal of this statue was to make this a statewide environmental health priority rather than just a local concern. Local meaning the residential area around the smelter. They devised a way to proactively approach lead risks in children that would be coordinated throughout the state of Nebraska. One of the most important provisions required that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services establish a prevention plan that included surveillance, intervention, education, and assessment.

One of the main parts of this law was the standardized elevated blood lead level threshold. This is defined using micrograms of lead per the deciliter of blood. Once a child has met this threshold, or exceeds it, the law enacts immediate intervention. Also, follow-up services. It also says that any child enrolled in Medicaid receives a routine blood-lead screening as part of their primary care. This was especially crucial for those in historically high-risk zipcodes near the former ASARCO plant. Screening was also encouraged around parts of Omaha that were known to have high prevalence of lead exposure.

The Act also emphasized how the community needed to be educated. Public health officials were entrusted with this. They need to educate caregivers, landlords, healthcare providers, and childcare workers on what to look for when it comes to lead hazards and prevent exposure. was needed for the continued progress. We are never going to be able to completely irradicate lead from the soil. It will continue to be an environmental health risk, but if we are educated and know the signs then it won’t be as harmful.

So far, this has been successful. EPA Region 7 and the Douglas County Health department have analyzed many soil and blood-lead records. They have collected and compared data to ensure that there has been an improved outcome. The findings show that children’s blood lead levels have in fact declined over time. This shows us that the public health measures combined with remediation has improved the health hazard. Policy can covert scientific data in to benefits.

Progress has been significant, but the statute ensures that they are aware that the efforts need to continue. Children in Omaha remain vulnerable, specifically those living in the disadvantaged neighborhoods. The housing-based hazards still are a risk and there still needs to be continued monitoring to precent exposure. The Nebraska Childhood Lead Prevention Act is a protective measure and an accountability tool to ensure were still committed to the progress of children’s health.

This act establishes the long-term framework that will protect children from toxic exposure, identifying exposure early, monitoring consistently, and community engagement are needed to address environmental risk effects.

 Advisory Committee for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention for the CDC. Low Level Lead Exposure Harms Children: A Renewed Call for Primary Prevention. 2012. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/docs/final_document_030712.pdf

CDC. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. 2023. Health Effects of Lead Exposure | Lead | CDC. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/prevention/health-effects.htm

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. (2023). Nebraska blood lead testing plan. https://dhhs.ne.gov/LeadDocs/Nebraska-Blood-Lead-Testing-Plan.pdf

Nebraska Revised Statutes, 71-2518. Nebraska Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. 2012. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=71-2518