? W - 5 iSEZ j EPA Lead Program Grant Fact Sheet Wyoming Department of Health Cheyenne, WY EPA has selected the Wyoming Department of Health in Cheyenne, WY for a Targeted Lead Grant. Many physicians are not screening children in Wyoming. Goals of this project are to increase awareness of lead poisoning hazards and elevated blood lead levels; increase testing to determine the prevalence of lead poisoning in Wyoming; provide avenues to address childhood lead poisoning; and ultimately lead to a decrease in the prevalence of children with elevated blood lead levels in Wyoming. This project also plans to: • Acquire additional information on the extent and severity of childhood lead poisoning in Wyoming. • Increase the number of health care facilities and providers (e.g., physicians, housing authorities, Women Infants and Children Program, and Medicaid) distributing lead poisoning prevention information from the current few, to at least one outlet per county in Wyoming. • Increase the number of low-income families receiving lead poisoning prevention information, • Increase the number of children being referred for and tested for elevated blood-lead levels, • Increase the number of physicians who conduct blood-lead tests on children. 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 ------- |