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Detroit Must Get The Lead Out
from the Detroit News, January 3, 2003
For more articles visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has embraced the slogan, "Kids,
Cops, Clean" in creating a focus for his administration. Part
of that program must include addressing the health concerns of
as many as 18,000 children who have some level of lead
poisoning in their systems.
The federal government banned lead in house paint in 1978. A
quarter of a century later, however, it remains a public
health threat. Stricter enforcement of housing codes and
prompt demolition of older dwellings must be part of the
solution to protect the health of the city's children.
According to Wayne County and Detroit health experts, the
number of Detroit children who have been poisoned by lead from
paint or plumbing is staggering. Children's Hospital of
Michigan conducted tests revealing that in some Detroit
neighborhoods, one out of five children under the age of six
had high lead levels in his or her system. While one-third of
all children tested have ingested lead from some source, just
one in three in the city ever get tested.
The highest incidence of lead poisoning occurs among renters
in sections of Detroit where the housing stock is older and
more likely to contain lead-based paint, lead pipes and
lead-based solder used in the plumbing. The problem is
disproportionately high among African-American, Hispanic and
Arab-American populations. About 63 percent of Detroit's
housing stock was built before 1950. But lead dust generated
by people who buy older homes to restore can also pose a
hazard.
Lead poisoning has serious health and social consequences for
the city. It robs Detroit infants and young children of their
future by causing mental retardation, irreversible brain
damage, lowered IQ, hyperactivity and juvenile delinquency.
Lethargy, seizures, severe muscle pain, behavioral disorders,
violent tendencies and even death may also stem from exposure
to lead.
Lead poisoning is doubly insidious since parents don't always
recognize the presence of the problem and often react too
slowly to what may be one of the greatest health risks to
urban children.
In addition to enforcement of existing codes and speedy
demolition of older houses with lead-based paint, there must
be an outreach and education program to warn residents of the
risks to their children from lead-based paint. The city of
Detroit has an extraordinary interest in advancing solutions
that shield its children from this threat.
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