CLEVELAND — One in four children in Cleveland suffers lead poisoning before Kindergarten, which can lead to learning disabilities and development issues. That’s why local organizations are spreading awareness of the lead poisoning problem in Cleveland this week.
Alarming statistics like those show the need for more to be done to decrease the number of children who suffer from lead poisoning.
That’s why the city is hosting various awareness events all this week for Lead Poisoning Prevention Week as officials look to keep people safe.
It started early Monday morning with Terminal Tower and Cleveland City Hall turning their lights green at 5 a.m. in honor of the week. They invite businesses and organizations across Downtown Cleveland to do the same.
The city will also be looking at every house in Cleveland and evaluating the threat of lead poisoning.
Starting this week, the city’s building and housing department is doing a housing survey of the entire city, street by street, looking at potential houses that may have a lead issue.
Due to the old housing inventory that’s in Cleveland, there is a big portion of housing that was built before 1978. So while lead paint may not have been used in recent years, there’s still lead paint from previous years.
Several houses in Cleveland have already been tagged as being hazardous.
“It's very detrimental to their growth and development,” said Zack Cofer, director of programming for Environmental Health Watch. “There's a lot of correlation of how it can affect them down the line, can lead to learning disabilities. It can affect their development. There's correlations between lead poisoning and future incarceration, future reliance on public assistance and those sorts of things.”
Because of natural deterioration that can happen in homes, that lead paint turns into lead dust. That’s a big reason for lead poisoning in children. The city is even holding a lead walk this week to raise awareness on the issue here in Cleveland.
If you’re looking for local resources to help test your home for potential lead poisoning, you can call the numbers below:
Cleveland: 216-664-2045
Cuyahoga County: 216-201-2000
Other counties: 1-877-LEADSAFE
If you suspect lead poisoning in your child, you can call MetroHealth’s Pediatric Lead Clinic at 216-778-2222.
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