UTICA – The city of Utica is set to receive some state funding to help address childhood lead poisoning, state Sen. Joseph Griffo announced Wednesday.

Griffo said he helped secure $155,000 for the city of Utica to help the city combat lead poisoning in children. The state funding is directed at municipalities within counties that are currently participating in the state Department of Health’s primary prevention of childhood lead poisoning program, through a strengthened partnership with code enforcement agencies in those municipalities.

According to the Lead-Free Mohawk Valley Coalition, in recent years Oneida County has had one of the highest levels of childhood lead poisoning in the state. The coalition says children can be exposed to lead through sources such as contaminated soil or water, imported toys, household paint from before 1978, and more.

“Lead poisoning can have very serious effects on children,” Griffo said in a news release. “This funding will help the City of Utica to address this issue and will hopefully cut down on the number of cases of children with lead poisoning.”