Gov. Rick Snyder has announced the creation of the Child Lead Exposure Elimination Commission, an effort that will continue Michigan’s fight against lead exposure, and has appointed Michigan State University's Mona Hanna-Attisha and Rebecca Meunick to the 15-member commission.
Mona Hanna-Attisha, assistant professor of pediatrics in the College of Human Medicine, will serve a three-year term on the commission. Hanna-Attisha is the director of the MSU-Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative and was the Flint Water Crisis investigator who discovered elevated lead blood levels in the children of Flint. She represents physicians on the commission.
Rebecca Meuninck, an MSU anthropology Ph.D. candidate, was appointed to a two-year term. She is the deputy director of the Ecology Center and serves as a committee member for the Michigan Networks for Children’s Environmental Health. She is also a member of the Michigan Alliance for Lead Safe Homes. Meuninck represents an organization that focuses on lead exposure advocacy.
Housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, the commission will act in an advisory capacity to the Governor and department director to coordinate and collaborate with all levels of government and stakeholders regarding programs and policies related to the elimination of child lead exposure.
“Eliminating the risk of child lead exposure will require the coordination and expertise of people across all sectors,” Snyder said. “Creating this permanent commission will help advance the strategies recommended to better protect Michigan children from lead exposure.”
The creation of a permanent commission was a recommendation of the Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board, chaired by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. The new commission will focus on implementation of the board’s recommendations and monitor the state’s efforts to eliminate lead exposure in children.
“No amount of lead exposure is safe for children, so we need to eliminate lead hazards that pose a danger before exposure occurs,” Calley said. “Making this a permanent priority will help ensure that strategies recommended by the Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board are implemented to protect Michigan kids.”
