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Lead Poisoning: The Decades-Old Problem That Won't Go Away
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March 13, 2013
In 1950, Baltimore city banned the use of lead paint in homes. But, city residents, of whom children and pregnant women are the most affected, are still being poisoned by the lead paint that was applied more than sixty years ago.
There are a raft of bills in the General Assembly dealing with lead poisoning this year. They would change how lead poisoning is defined and what damages lead poisoned children can receive.
Joining Sheilah to talk about it is Ruth Ann Norton, Executive Director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. And, Kathy Howard joins Sheilah by phone. She is the Legislative Committee Chair for the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, a trade association for multi-home property owners in the state.
Here's a rundown of the lead poisoning bills with sponsors in the House of Delegates. Links to each bill are included:
HB754 - Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing - Qualified Offer - Sponsor: Beidle, Niemann, Stein
HB923 - Certificate of a Qualified Expert - Lead Pain Poisoning Claims - Sponsor: Niemann
HB924 - Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing - Sponsors: Stein, Beidle, Glenn, Holmes, McMillan, Norman, Weir
HB1299 - Lead Poisoning - Risk Reduction Standard - Frequency of Testing - Sponsors: Stein, Beidle, Glenn, Holmes, McMillan, Norman, Weir
HB389 - Lead Safe Income Tax Credit - Sponsors: Hogan, Beidle
HB1048 - Lead Contaminated Dust Test Required - Sponsors: Niemann, Beidle, Bobo, Carr, Carter, Frush, Glenn, Hubbard, Lafferty, Oaks, S. Robinson, Stein
HB1067 - Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing - Blood Lead Level - Sponsors: Rosenberg, Carter, Frush, Hubbard, Oaks
HB947 - Lead-Base Paint Damages - Manufacturers of Lead Pigment - Sponsors: Niemann, Oaks, Carter
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Comments
It's difficult to adequately
It's difficult to adequately cover a complicated subject in a few minutes but it should be noted that Marylad has the most successful lead poisoning prevention program in the country. Since it began in1993 we have reduced poisonings by 98% while maintaining our affordable housing stock. Legislators must restore the program's balance which is at risk without legislative action. Thank you Kathy Howard,MMHA.
Facts that are never discussed...
First off, no one ever mentions the EPA study that was done in the 1970s where they found that the AVERAGE blood lead level of children was in the range of 15 ug/dl ( http://www.epa.gov/ace/ace3draft/draft_pdfs/ACE3LeadReviewPackage3-02-11... ) - the level that is now called lead poisoning.
The 98% figure mentioned above is that the number children over the 15 ug/dl blood lead level is down 98% from the level a little more than a decade ago. Not sure whether that is weighting the number by the number tested since we have a lot more kids tested now. Search on the MDE report on childhood lead poisoning for the details.
From that statistic alone - you might conclude that we have effectively solved the problem.
Why then are the rules getting tougher? Now EPA requires that you take a course in order to do any renovation work.
Who gets hurt by these regulations - well look at what it does to devalue property that may have lead paint in it. If you consider a row house in Baltimore - the cost of dealing with the lead paint (aside from whether the lead paint poses any risk to the inhabitant) renders a cheap row house basically worthless. So our regulations have removed any value from the low cost housing stock of Baltimore city. If any of these houses were owned by the poor (as opposed to simply renting) - and Baltimore used to have one of the highest home ownership rates in the country - then we have basically wiped out the savings of a large group of poor people.
I would hope that Sheila would really look into the larger impact of the lead regulations in Maryland. The laws that are enacted are garbage - the amount of money wasted is huge. Full disclosure - I own one rental property in Baltimore city. I live in a house that is absolutely crawling with lead paint.