Holiday Shoppers Warned About Lead in Toys
December 17, 2007—Denver—State health officials
Monday provided information for holiday
toy shoppers about the hazards of lead in toys. They also
provided names
of low-cost health clinics where families without health
insurance may
take their children for a blood test if the child has been
exposed. Lead
may cause behavioral problems, developmental delays,
seizures or even
death in young children. Health officials said young
children, especially those under 6 years of
age, are at higher risk for lead exposure because they tend
to put toys,
fingers and other objects in their mouths, exposing
themselves to lead
paint or dust. The most common source of lead exposure in
young children
is deteriorating lead paint in homes built before 1978,
including paint
chips and dust from painted doors and windows. Shannon
Rossiter, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment’s Disease Control and
Environmental
Epidemiology Division, said, “If you think your child has
been exposed
to lead from a toy, take the toy away immediately and
contact a health
care provider. A doctor can help you decide whether a blood
lead test is
needed and recommend next steps if your child has been
exposed. “A child with a blood level up to 10-20
micrograms of lead per
deciliter of blood may not exhibit any visible symptoms, but
could still
be at risk for lead poisoning and other health problems.”
Although lead paint was banned in the United States in 1978,
Rossiter
said it still can be found in the paint on either wooden or
plastic toys
that are imported or on toys that were made prior to the
lead paint
ban. Low-cost clinics across Colorado
Clinics across the
state that provide low-cost blood lead tests Boulder Clinica Campesina Family Health Services
303-665-2962
Web site: www.clinicacampesina.org
Service Area: Adams and Boulder counties People's Clinic
303-449-6050
Web site: www.peoplesclinic.org
Service Area: Boulder County Colorado Springs/Pueblo Area
Peak Vista Community Health Centers
719-632-5700
Web site: www.peakvista.org
Service Area: El Paso, Teller and Park counties Pueblo
Community Health Center
719-543-8711
Web site: www.pueblochc.org
Service Area: Pueblo County Denver and surrounding areas
Clinica Campesina Family Health Services
303-665-2962
Web site: www.clinicacampesina.org
Service Area: Adams and Boulder counties Clìnica Tepeyac
303-458-5302
Web site: www.clinicatepeyac.org
Service Area: Varies. Most patients are from Aurora and
Thornton Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
303-293-2217
Web site: www.coloradocoalition.org
Service Area: Denver County Denver Health Family Health
Centers
303-436-6000
Web site: www.denverhealth.org
Service Area: City and County of Denver Doctors Care
303-730-1313
Web site: www.drscare.org
Service Area: Douglas, Arapahoe and Elbert Counties only
Inner City Health Center
303-296-1767
Service Area: City of Denver, Denver County and metro area Community
Provider Network
303-761-4825
Web site: www.mcpn.org
Service Area: Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties Salud
Family Health Centers
303-892-6401 or 1-800-388-4325
Web site: www.saludclinic.org
Service Area: Adams, Boulder, Larimer, Logan, Morgan and
Weld counties Eastern Plains Plains Medical Center
719-775-2367
Web site: www.plainsmedicalcenter.org
Service Area: Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, Kit Carson and
Lincoln counties High Plains Community Health Center
719-336-0261
Web site: www.highplainschc.net
Service Area: Prowers County Mountain Mountain
Family Health Centers
303-258-3206
Web site: www.mountainfamily.org
Service Area: Gilpin, Boulder, Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle
counties Northern Colorado Salud Family Health
Centers
303-892-6401 or 1-800-388-4325
Web site: www.saludclinic.org
Service Area: Adams, Boulder, Larimer, Logan, Morgan and
Weld counties Sunrise Community Health Center
970-353-9403 Greeley; 970-669-4855
Loveland
Service Area: Weld and Larimer counties San Luis Valley
Valley-Wide Health Systems, Inc.
719-589-5161
Web site: www.vwhs.org
Service Area: Alamosa, Bent, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley,
Fremont, La
Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Otero, Rio Grande and Saguache
counties Southwest Colorado Dove Creek Community
Health Clinic
970-677-2291
Service Area: Dolores, Montezuma and San Miguel counties
Uncompahgre Medical Center
970-327-4233
Web site: www.umclinic.org
Service Area: San Miguel County For a list of recalled
toys, call the U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission’s recall line at 1-800-638-2772 or visit
its web
site at
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html. --30-- |
