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Blood lead battle receives boost

Two new programs aimed at young and burgeoning families should help secure the health of people in Trail and Rivervale.

Two new programs aimed at young and burgeoning families should help secure the health of people in Trail and Rivervale.

The Trail Health and Environment Committee (THEC) announced late Thursday that a Healthy Home yard assessment program for expectant families, and a Healthy Family visit from a public health nurse for families with children under 12 months, will help reduce blood lead levels.

Slated to start in 2013, the two new programs were prompted partly in response to new guidance from the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. But the real impetus was to be ahead of the curve on levels of lead found in the local populace, said THEC chair Gord DeRosa.

“Our overall goal is to get it down as low as possible,” he said. “We are pushing to get it down as low as we can possibly get it.”