Senate Bill S1028

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1028

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
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 estab-
lish 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 ELL 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 ELL to 5 pg/dL. Although the Department of Health is author-
ized 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 g/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:

2017-2018: S6472

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.