Lead and Environmental Justice

This enduring activity is designed to increase knowledge and change competency of lead and environmental justice practices. The goal of this activity is to enhance the knowledge of physicians and other healthcare providers about lead and environmental justice in pediatric and reproductive-age populations to decrease lead exposure.

Target Audience

Physicians, Registered Nurses, Administrators, Advanced Practice Nurses, Certified Health Educators, DOs, Epidemiologists, Medical Assistants, Other Health Educators, Environmental Health Scientists, Physician Assistants, Program Managers, Certified Health Educators

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to:

• Define environmental racism
• Define environmental justice
• Name three common sources of lead exposure for children in the United States today
• Identify two examples of how children of color, particularly Black children, are disproportionately affected by lead exposure
• List one recommendation for change that would improve children’s health by controlling lead exposure
• Describe my role, responsibilities, and scope of practice as a team member.

Author

Laurie Seidel Halmo, MD, FAAP
Dr. Halmo is an assistant professor of pediatrics and a medical toxicologist at Children's Hospital Colorado. She specializes in perinatal and pediatric toxicology and children’s environmental health and is an active fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Halmo works closely with her region’s poison control center and also with the Region 8 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU).

The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) are supported by cooperative agreement FAIN: NU61TS000296 with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also provides support through Inter-Agency Agreement DW-75-95877701 with CDC/ATSDR. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the PEHSU as the National Program Office. The content on this website has not been formally disseminated by CDC/ATSDR or the EPA and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. Use of trade names that may be mentioned is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the CDC/ATSDR or EPA.

The information contained on this website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your/your child’s primary care provider. There may be variations in treatment that your provider may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.