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EPA Lead Program
Grant Fact Sheet
Outreach to Urban and Rural
Florida Counties
Gainesville, FL
EPA has selected the University of
Florida in Gainesville, FL for a Targeted
Lead Grant.
The University will increase public
awareness of childhood lead poisoning
through culturally appropriate messages
in two urban and two rural Florida
counties.
These counties have the highest levels
of pre-1978 homes in Florida and the
highest percentages of children under
the age of 6 living in poverty in Florida.
Newly confirmed cases of children with
elevated blood lead levels were
identified in all of the 2005 screenings
events.
EPA's grant funds will be used to:
•	develop and broadcast radio
public service messages and cable TV advertisements in English and Spanish,
•	develop and exhibit English and Spanish lead awareness posters, and
•	provide consultations to residents.
The partnership with the U of FL Food & Agricultural Sciences and FL Childhood Lead
Poisoning Prevention Program will enhance the distribution and exhibition of lead
educational materials.
EPA's Targeted Lead Grants
EPA's Targeted Lead Grant Program funds
projects in areas with high incidences of
children with elevated blood-lead levels in
vulnerable populations. In 2007 the Agency
awarded more than $5.2 Million in grants
under this ambitious program. These
targeted grants are intended to address
immediate needs of the communities in
which they are awarded, and will also
highlight lead poison prevention strategies
that can be used in similar communities
across the country.
EPA's lead program is playing a major role
in meeting the federal goal of eliminating
childhood lead poisoning as a major public
health concern by 2010, and the projects
supported by these grant funds are an
important part of this ongoing effort.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control in 1978 there were 13.5 million
children in the US with elevated blood lead
levels. By 2002, that number had dropped
to 310,000.
For more information about EPA's Lead
Program, visit www.epa.gov/lead or call
the National Lead Information Center at
1-800-424-LEAD.
2007 Targeted Lead Grant Program
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
www.epa.gov/lead

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