A New Hampshire state report rings alarms for the lead poisoning crisis, with 1,142 children poisoned by lead in 2023. This is the highest number of children poisoned since the state began requiring blood lead testing for one- and two-year-olds.
As Governor-elect Kelley Ayotte prepares for office, she has an opportunity to tackle challenges facing the health of our communities and environment.
Earlier this year, CLF and our members submitted hundreds of comments to the EPA asking them to take swift action to remove lead from our water for good.
Passion for fashion and ready to take action! Meet Marina Vaz, CLF’s environmental justice community advocate, and learn about her vision for the future of Nashua.
“One child affected by lead poisoning is too many, and this problem has persisted for far too long,” said Arnold Mikolo, Environmental Justice Advocate at CLF. “Our children deserve to grow up free from this toxic threat. The creation of this commission is a major step towards ending this injustice once and for all and protecting Manchester’s children.”
CLF pushes for more robust standards for clean water regionwide.
We are helping to make our built environment healthier for all.
Long recognized as a dangerous toxin that can result in serious health problems, lead was removed from our gasoline and paint decades ago. But the problem of lead poisoning in children has unfortunately not gone away, especially in Manchester, NH.
I grew up in communities that needed environmental justice the most. I also lived in neighborhoods that already had the resources and ability to make change. Still, I didn’t understand the difference or know what the environmental world called the movement until later in life. I could only connect the dots when I had more access to education and a framework for understanding the issue.
At a time of great concern about the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential risks posed to students, teachers, and families, it’s important not to lose sight of a lingering, ongoing health problem – one that can have lifelong consequences for our kids, but that is easily preventable: lead-contaminated drinking water.
