Opinion ID: 1470023
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Lead Poisoning in Rhode Island

Text: Patricia A. Nolan, M.D., former director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), testified that from January 1993 to December 2004 at least 37,363 children in Rhode Island were poisoned by lead in paint. In 2004, a total of 1,685 children in Rhode Island were affected. Rhode Island Department of Health, Childhood Lead Poisoning in Rhode Island: The Numbers 2005 Edition 4, 19 (hereinafter The Numbers 2005 ). Of this number, almost 70 percent of the children (1,167) were newly poisoned in 2004. Id. Fortunately, the prevalence of lead poisoning in children under the age of six recently has declined. Id. In 2005, RIDOH reported a 76 percent decline in the number of lead-poisoned children  from 20.5 percent in 1995 to 5 percent in 2004. Id. However, despite this significant decrease in childhood lead poisonings, the 5 percent prevalence rate is more than double the national average of 2.2 percent. Id. C