Youth Against Lead is a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to reducing childhood lead exposure and advocating for greater transparency in public health across New Jersey.

Childhood lead poisoning remains one of New Jersey's most significant environmental health challenges. Even low levels of lead exposure can permanently impair a child's brain development, learning, behaviour, and overall health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 500,000 children under the age of six in the United States have blood lead levels at or above the CDC blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL).

Timely access to childhood lead surveillance data is essential. State and local health officials, healthcare providers, researchers, schools, community organizations, and policymakers rely on this information to identify trends, direct prevention efforts, allocate limited public health resources, and better protect children from lead exposure.

The timely release of the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025 Childhood Lead Poisoning Report is especially important because it is expected to be the first annual report reflecting New Jersey's adoption of the CDC's updated blood lead reference value of 3.5 µg/dL, lowered from the previous 5.0 µg/dL threshold. As a result, more children may be identified as having elevated blood lead levels and become eligible for public health follow-up and intervention. The SFY 2025 report will provide the first statewide opportunity to understand how this updated standard affects childhood lead surveillance, public health planning, and resource allocation across New Jersey.

Under N.J.S.A. 26:2-135, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health is required to issue an annual report on childhood lead poisoning activities by October 1 of each year. The statute further requires that the report be made available to state and local agencies involved with lead prevention and to interested members of the public. Consistent with this requirement, previous annual Childhood Lead Poisoning Reports have been published on the Department's public website, making them freely accessible.

As of the date of this petition, the SFY 2025 Childhood Lead Poisoning Report does not appear to be publicly available. Without access to the most recent statewide surveillance data, communities, healthcare providers, researchers, and policymakers lack an up-to-date understanding of childhood lead exposure trends across New Jersey.

Timely publication of this report is more than an administrative obligation: it is a matter of public accountability. Transparent public health reporting strengthens public trust, enables evidence-based decision-making, and helps ensure that prevention and intervention efforts are directed toward the children and communities that need them most.

We respectfully call upon the New Jersey Department of Health to:

• Release the SFY 2025 Childhood Lead Poisoning Report without further delay;
• Continue publishing future annual reports in accordance with the timeline established under N.J.S.A. 26:2-135; and
• Ensure these reports remain readily accessible to the public.

By signing this petition, you are supporting transparency in childhood lead surveillance and helping ensure that families, healthcare providers, community organizations, researchers, and policymakers have access to the information needed to better protect New Jersey's children.

Citations: 

• N.J.S.A. 26:2-135 (Annual Childhood Lead Poisoning Report requirement)
• New Jersey Department of Health – Childhood Lead Poisoning Annual Reports (showing previous SFY reports are publicly available)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Blood Lead Reference Value (3.5 µg/dL)