Childhood lead poisoning has serious consequences for Delaware children.   Lead exposure can damage a child’s brain and nervous system, and cause learning and developmental problems and hearing and speech difficulties. Lead exposure disproportionately affects Black children and children from low-income households.  

Overall, over one in fifty children in Delaware have elevated levels of lead in their blood before the age of two. Exposure to lead-based paint in older housing is the primary source of lead exposure for those children.

Delaware has begun to pay more attention to the issue of childhood lead poisoning. But there have been far too few houses where lead paint has actually been removed. With the introduction of Senate Bill 9, the General Assembly has started the process of actually removing lead from Delaware homes where children are now being exposed to lead poisoning.  

Senate Bill 9 puts in place a system for making sure that the state’s initial $2 million investment in lead paint removal is spent properly. It also creates accountability to ensure that the state continues to invest in lead abatement and remediation in the future. And it creates a fast-tracked process to ensure that Delaware puts steps in place to remediate or abate lead paint in all of its residences within two years.  

Please sign this petition urging our elected representatives to support Senate Bill 9.