Senate Bill S6472

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6472

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the public health law, in relation
to the definition of elevated blood lead levels

 PURPOSE :

This bill will protect the health of children in New York State by
lowering the statutory standard for elevated blood lead levels to
reflect current scientific guidance.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: amends the definition of "elevated lead levels" set forth
in subdivision 6 of § 1370 of the Public Health Law to lower the level
of lead in whole blood requiring action under the Childhood Lead
Poisoning Prevention Program from the current level of 10 micrograms
of lead per deciliter of whole blood (pg/dL) to 5 pg/dL.  The section
also clarifies that the statutory authorization for the Department of
Health to establish a different blood lead level (BLL) by regulation
only permits it to establish a level lower than 5 pg/dL.

Section 2: provides that, within 90 days after this act takes effect,
the Department of Health shall adopt all necessary regulations to
define "elevated lead levels" to mean a BLL greater than or equal to 5
pg/dL of whole blood, or such lower BLL as the Department may
              

establish, to be utilized in its lead poisoning prevention program.
The Department is authorized to promulgate regulations on an emergency
basis to implement the provisions of this act.sill § 2 further
provides that, within 6 months after the date on which the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services has published guidance
recommending a lower concentration of lead in blood than the
concentration established pursuant to § 1 of the bill as a reference
level for public health responses, the Department shall publish a
notice of proposed rule making to consider incorporating such guidance
into its regulations.

Section 3: sets an effective date for this act.

 JUSTIFICATION :

When the Legislature enacted the "Lead Poisoning Prevention Act" in
1992, it incorporated a recommendation issued by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control (CDC). In 1991 the CDC had recommended a BLL of 10
pg/dL or greater as an action level for children and an advisory level
for environmental and educational intervention. In 2012, the CDC
lowered the recommended BLL to 5 pg/dL. Although the Department of
Health is authorized under the statute to prescribe a different level
by regulation, to date it has taken no action.

To set its recommendation, the CDC uses a reference value based on the
97.5th percentile of the BLL distribution among children 1 -5 years
old in the United States. As public health efforts continue, this
value is expected to decrease. The CDC reconsiders its recommendation
every four years, and is currently considering lowering its
recommended BLL to 3.5 pg/dL.

Lead is toxic and can cause neurological damage to children at any
level. The CDC has stated that no safe blood level in children has
been identified. Nevertheless, it still expects that children whose
blood tests higher than the reference level - that is, whose blood
level is higher than 97.5% of children in the U.S - should benefit
from a public health response. Blood test data from 2014 reported by
the CDC indicates that over 6000 children in New York City and almost
2000 children in other parts of the state had BLLs between 5 and 9
pg/dL.This bill will improve the State's efforts to protect children's
health and will ensure that any future changes in the CDC's
recommendations receive prompt consideration.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.