Department of
Health & Human Services

Long Beach, CA – The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services’ Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) is recognizing National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, taking place Oct. 22 to 28, 2023, with a weeklong campaign educating the community about the dangers of lead and how to reduce childhood exposure to lead through increased lead poisoning prevention awareness. This year’s campaign theme is: “Protect your family from all sources of lead air pollution, including aircraft and shooting ranges.” Long Beach CLPPP’s campaign features social media posts, citywide lead testing advertisements, training for City Code Enforcement and Building Inspector professionals, and provider outreach.

“Lead poisoning can be detrimental to young children's health and development, but it can be avoided through education and prevention,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of the Long Beach community and addressing community concerns of lead exposure is a priority.”

In California, children can be exposed to lead by ingesting lead-contaminated dust, paint chips from deteriorating lead-based paint, and lead-contaminated soil. If families live or spend time near airports, they may be exposed to lead air pollution from the use of leaded aviation gas in small airplanes. Other sources of lead poisoning include lead dust brought home on parents' work clothes, certain imported ceramic pottery, painted objects, traditional home remedies, traditional cosmetics, and imported spices, candies and other food products. Additionally, activities that involve lead products such as soldering, making stained glass, and handling bullets or fishing sinkers can put children at risk.

Long Beach CLPPP is dedicated to lead poisoning prevention through health education and advocacy of timely lead screenings of children in the Long Beach community. It provides health education through community outreach events, provider education and parent workshops. CLPPP works closely with programs such as Women Infants and Children, Long Beach Unified School District’s Head Start and Child Health and Disability Prevention programs, and other children’s programs to facilitate educational outreach and encourage testing. Lead burdened children receive case management services from a Public Health Nurse who works in partnership with Environmental Health to test homes and provide guidance for lead abatement.

Long Beach CLPPP collaborates with the Lead Hazard Control Program which is a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded program through the Health Department’s Environmental Health Services Bureau. The program provides property owners of multi-unit properties with lead inspection and risk assessments and works with lead abatement contractors to remediate properties to be lead-safe for children. The program also works with the Long Beach Housing Authority to monitor Section 8 Housing to ensure properties are lead-safe, as those properties are required to have lead abatement if a child is lead poisoned.

The Long Beach Airport is working to address lead stemming from airport operations. Although the airport is not a direct provider of fuel, staff are working closely with Airport tenants to expedite product availability for unleaded fuel and is among the small group of California airports leading in this transition nationwide. As a result of this collaboration, in August 2023, Signature Flight Support @ Aeroplex made unleaded fuel available for purchase at LGB for the first time. The Long Beach City Council waived fuel flowage fees for unleaded fuel in December 2022 and is currently considering a number of additional ways to incentivize the use of unleaded fuel at LGB. LGB strongly supports federal efforts, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent announcement, to develop and promulgate federal regulatory standards for lead emissions and aviation fuel.

To learn more about Lead Week, people are encouraged to follow the Health Department @lbhealthdept on Facebook, Instagram and X throughout Lead Week or visit the Health Department’s CLPPP website at longbeach.gov/clppp for more information. Community members may contact CLPPP at HE-CLPPP@longbeach.gov or at 562.570.4564.

More information about the Bureau of Environmental Health is available at longbeach.gov/health.