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Berkeley,
California (Thursday, October 4, 2007) -
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has recently
issued an announcement to urge consumers to stop using lunch boxes
which have been distributed as CDPH nutrition educational items,
after testing showed elevated levels of lead in three lunch boxes.
For more information about the recall, please visit the following
link: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/news/Pages/PH07-39.aspx
Residents
who think they may have gotten a contaminated lunch box from one of
the CDPH nutritional programs - the Network for a Healthy California
and the Woman, Infants, and Children's (WIC) - are encouraged to
drop them off by Wednesday, October 31st, at one of
the following locations:
Bay Area Hispano Institute
for Advancement, Inc. (BAHIA)
1000 Camelia Street
(at Ninth Street)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Habitot Children's Museum
2065 Kittredge
Street (at Allston Way)
Hours: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. -
1 p.m.
Berkeley Head Start/Early
Head Start - West Berkeley YMCA - Main Office
2009 10th Street (at
University Avenue)
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Images of the lunch boxes are
displayed on the City of Berkeley Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention Program webpage: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/publichealth/leadpoisoning/lead.html
There will
not be any exchange for
recalled lunch boxes or toys.
Lead is a
well known hazard. Children may be exposed from contaminated
products through normal hand-to-mouth behavior. Some mild health
effects include hyperactivity, irritability, and learning
disabilities, while severe effects include nausea and vomiting,
headaches, hearing problems, and neurological impairments such as
stumbling and loss of concentration. If you have any reason to
suspect that your child has been exposed to lead, please remove the
product from your child. Your child's health care provider can help
you decide whether to perform a blood tested to see if your child
has an elevated blood lead level. A blood test is the only way you
can tell if your child has an elevated level. Most children with
elevated blood lead levels have no symptoms. The health care
provider can recommend treatment if your child has been exposed to
lead.
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