Last week was National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, but I would like to suggest it should be every week.
As chair of the Get The Lead Out Detroit Coalition, I wish the problem was limited enough to fit into one week. But it is not. That’s because
- Every week, too many kids test positive for lead poisoning in Detroit.
- Every week, only 10 % of kids in Detroit who should be, get tested. Earlier this month, Gov. Whitmer signed into law legislation requiring that all children up to 2 years of age get tested. Previously, it had only been required of families who received Medicare.
- Each week, another home in Detroit ages another seven days while more than 80% of them are older than 1978 when lead paint was outlawed.
- Each week, families opening and closing doors and windows painted with lead-based paint unknowingly release microscopic particles of lead dust into the air, which land on surfaces and floors accessible by children.
- Each week, children play in bare soil and unknowingly track dirt inside the home containing lead from chipping exterior paint embedded into soil.
- Each week, a renovation in an older home that does not include proper lead remediation protocols puts the workers and homeowners at risk.
- Each week, landlords ignore laws and renters’ rights and make available for rent premises that have not lead-safe approvals.
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is a program of The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
And because lead poisoning is 100% preventable, we join them in encouraging families to:
The Get the Lead Out Detroit Coalition was established with the support of the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation with the purpose of reducing the number of Detroit children poisoned by lead hazards in the home and soil by identifying and executing strategies to support lead safe kids and lead safe homes for families.
Our founding partners include Building Community Value; CLEARCorps Detroit; Data Driven Detroit; Detroit Future City; Detroit Health Department; City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department; Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice; DTE Energy Efficiency Assistance Program; Enterprise Community Partners; the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation; Kids’ Health Connection; Lakeshore Legal Aid; Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – MI Lead Safe; Rocket Community Fund; and Wayne State University Center for Urban Studies -Detroit Lead Advocacy Parent Group/DLEAD. More information and resources for families is available at www.leadoutdetroit.com