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Lead Poisoning: State, city need
to get moving faster on solutions
from the Detroit Free Press, March 6, 2003
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Let's do more
than talk about getting the lead out.
Many encouraging signs have followed the Free Press series
earlier this year on lead contamination in Detroit. But with the
exception of a welcome -- if way overdue -- federal check on
soil contamination in one small area of the city, too many
proposals to resolve the city's lead contamination problems are
still in the talking stages.
State Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, has the plan with the
broadest scope. His task force will shape bills for protecting
children, but he will need allies, including Republicans.
Lawmakers such as Rep. Edward Gaffney, R-Grosse Pointe Farms,
whose district includes a section of Detroit, must step up. It
will make a big difference for kids facing the very real
problems that come with exposure to lead.
Statewide action needs to include a mandate for lead-testing all
Michigan children, ideally about the time they start crawling.
Finding children who are exposed is the first and most important
step in stopping the neurological damage that affects children's
IQs and behavior.
The knottier problems include getting lead-based paint out of
homes, and ensuring that landlords clean up their units. The
City Council heard last week how poorly its code on lead paint
is enforced. It needs to address that promptly.
But lead problems haunt every community that was built up before
1978, when paint manufacturers changed their formulas to
eliminate lead. That argues for statewide rules and enforcement,
perhaps with short-term incentives such as tax credits for paint
removal in the mix.
Lead in paint and in ground residue has dimmed the potential of
far too many children already. Adults have consistently let them
down despite clear knowledge not just of the danger but of the
obvious solutions. This time, actions have to speak louder than
words. |
