New Jersey § 26:2-130

§ 26:2-130.

The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Exposure to lead and lead poisoning leads to morbidity, mortality, mental retardation,

and learning disability in young children, the monetary and social costs of which

far exceed the costs of monitoring and preventing lead poisoning. b. The New Jersey Department of Health estimates that 44 of every 1000 children are

at risk of lead poisoning and that the rate of lead poisoning among children at risk

now exceeds the rate of paralytic polio at the height of the epidemic of the 1950's;

however, the department has the resources to test and follow up on only 16% of the

220,000 children it estimates are at risk of lead poisoning. c. Very few health departments have the resources to comply fully with the minimum

standards of performance for local boards of health and Chapter XIII of the State

Sanitary Code concerning control of lead poisoning in children due to the costs of

the required testing, follow-up and abatement.