SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2236        FILED ON: 1/22/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2206

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bruce E. Tarr

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to childhood lead poisoning prevention.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2236        FILED ON: 1/22/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2206

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act relative to childhood lead poisoning prevention.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 189A of Chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Advisory committee”  definition for “Blood lead level of concern” shall be removed and replaced with “Blood Lead Level: It should be noted that there is no safe blood lead level especially in children under the age of six. The CDC has determined that any lead concentration of lead may have lasting consequences so any sources of lead contamination should be avoided.             

SECTION 2. Said Section 189A of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Director” the following definition:-

“Lead poisoning”, a medical condition which is a danger for people of any age. However, when present in a child under six years of age defined as when the concentration of lead in whole venous blood is of 5µg/dL (micrograms per deciliter) or greater. Said baseline concentration level may be lowered by the department through regulation.

SECTION 3.  Section 191 of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 9, the words “the terms ‘lead poisoning’ and ‘previously reported’” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the term “previously reported”.

SECTION 4. Said Section 191 of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The department shall perform public health surveillance and outreach to identify children with a blood lead level of concern. A child reported to have a blood lead level of concern shall be offered appropriate case management services in accordance with standards set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics, or another qualified standard as determined by the department.

SECTION 5. Section 193 of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is amended by striking out, in lines 44 and 45, the words “, as defined by regulation by the director,”.

SECTION 6. Section 197C of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 3 to 5, inclusive, the words “in excess of the level considered dangerous to the child’s immediate health as determined by the department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- that constitutes lead poisoning.

SECTION 7. Said Section 197C of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 22 to 24, inclusive, the words “in excess of the level considered dangerous to the child’s immediate health as determined by the department” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- that constitutes lead poisoning.   

SECTION 8. Section 199 of said Chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 5, the words “at which the department defines” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- that constitutes.