Last week, InsiderAdvantage reported on the news that military housing across the country – at Fort Benning, Fort Knox, Fort Polk, Fort Bliss, Fort Hood and Fort Belvoir – had hazardous levels of lead paint. In some cases, there were reported lead poisonings of children – including 31 children living in on-post housing at Fort Benning. Following the report, Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue sent a letter expressing their concerns.
Yesterday, Isakson and Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. filed an amendment to the Department of Defense appropriations bill that would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the monitoring and remediation of lead and lead exposure in military housing. Senator Perdue was a co-sponsor of the bill, along with Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mark Warner, D-Va.
“The recent reports regarding lead poisoning in some military housing units is disturbing and must absolutely be corrected,” said Isakson, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “Our military families sacrifice greatly in service to our country, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to ensure their safety, especially in homes the military provides for them. In addition to the information we’ve requested from the U.S. Army to ensure proper treatment, remediation and accountability plans moving forward, I’ve offered this amendment to learn as much as we can about this dangerous exposure to prevent future poisoning and protect our military families going forward.”
The use of lead-based paint for housing was banned in the United States in 1978 but homes built before that year are likely to still have lead paint and it is dangerous as it chips or cracks. As the CDC puts it, “children under the age of 6 years old are at risk because they are growing so rapidly and because they tend to put their hands or other objects, which may be contaminated with lead dust, into their mouths.” Studies have shown that even low levels of lead exposure can affect IQ, attention span and academic achievement. Any effects from lead exposure cannot be corrected.
“Families are the backbone of the military. We owe it to our men and women in uniform to ensure their families have access to safe and comfortable housing on base, especially here on American soil,” said Perdue, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I am concerned with the recent reports that military families and children have been exposed to dangerous lead conditions at Fort Benning and other installations across the country. We are actively working to get more information from the Army, so we can chart the best path forward and improve the safety of on-base housing at Fort Benning and beyond.”
There are steps you can take to prevent lead exposure, the CDC lists a number of them on their website. Everything from regularly washing hands to only using cold water – hot water is more likely to contain higher levels of lead. Those details can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tips.htm
