I
n 1999, more than 1 million children
nationwide were identified as lead
poisoned. Today, using similar
measurements, fewer than 500,000
children are identified as lead poisoned.
It’s a seeming success story. Then why
is lead still considered one of the more
harmful environmental hazards facing
children in the United States?
We now know that the brains of children
are damaged at much lower levels of lead than
once thought. In fact, research indicates there is
no safe level of lead in the body. An estimated
1 million children nationwide are harmed by lead
today; Illinois still has the highest percentage of
lead-poisoned children in the nation. Once harmed,
the damage to a child’s developing brain is done
and the focus must shift to addressing problems
caused by the poisoning and to avoiding further
accumulation of lead in the child’s body. In the
meantime, the lead can irreversibly affect the
child’s ability to think, learn, and behave.
A recent study of almost 50,000 children
enrolled in the third grade in Chicago Public
Schools between 2003-06 found that low-level
lead exposure lowers standardized test
performance and increases the risk of school
failure. The study controlled for other factors
associated with school performance including
poverty, birth weight, maternal education, and
race/ethnicity. Studies in other parts of the
country have found similar results.
In 1972, Chicago was the first city to enact
an ordinance to limit the lead content in paint.
The federal government began responding to the
problem around the same time. Lead in residential
paint was phased out and completely banned
by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in
1978. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) phased out leaded gasoline between 1973-
96, and also placed strict limits on the amount
of lead in drinking water. The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) assisted in virtually
eliminating the use of lead solder in domestically
canned food and beverages. The FDA also has
established strict standards concerning the amount
of lead that can leach from U.S.-manufactured
ceramic ware into beverages and food. Federal laws
also have been passed requiring the use of lead-
safe work practices in federally subsidized work,
and disclosure of known lead hazards in homes
built before 1978.
A continuing challenge
So why is lead still a problem? Three reasons
stand out:
››
1)
Lead is a heavy metal used in many materials
and products, and it does not break down in the
environment. Once dispersed and redeposited
in the environment, it will remain to poison
generations of children unless it is contained or
removed. Although lead paint has been banned
in the U.S. since 1978, approximately 2 million
housing units in Illinois have lead-based paint.
››
2)
Because of concerted legislative and
regulatory reform efforts over the last four
decades, fewer children have high concentrations
of lead and fewer suffer from lead’s more visible
effects. In addition, most of these laws are only
enforced after a child is poisoned; we have not
focused on prevention.
››
3)
Undue lead exposure is defined by blood
lead level, the amount of lead concentration in
the blood. In 1971, children were considered
lead poisoned only if the blood lead level was 60
micrograms per deciliter or higher; in 1975, that
level was 30 micrograms per deciliter; in 1985,
25 micrograms per deciliter. In 1991, the official
definition for lead poisoning was lowered to 10
micrograms per deciliter. In 2012, the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) proclaimed that no level
of lead is safe.
So, in some respects, the greatest challenges
today to tackling the problem are that we are
addressing a moving target—and that the public and
policymakers assume the problem has been solved.
It’s critical we succeed.
Economist Richard Rothstein argues that while
school reform efforts—school improvement—have
an important role to play, schools “cannot shoulder
the entire burden, or even most of it,” alone.
Rothstein refers to lead and asthma as low-hanging
fruit necessary to address the achievement
gap—lead directly depresses cognitive ability
and can affect attentiveness and learning, and
asthma causes absenteeism. Researchers on the
Chicago school study concluded that preventing
lead poisoning in early childhood is a highly
practical way to improve the school success of all
students, and resources should be redirected to
achieve this goal. Other national studies support
similar findings. In addition, as communities try to
address crime, it is worth considering that lead also
has been linked to juvenile delinquency and later
criminal activity.
The CDC describes lead poisoning as a
potentially devastating, but entirely preventable,
disease caused primarily by exposure to dust from
deteriorated paint on old housing.
So what can we do? The problem of lead
poisoning has rested primarily with public
health departments. While public-private coalitions
and advocacy movements have been built to
tackle the problem, we need to bring in new
players critical to the conversation and to creative
thinking. A range of ideas is worthy of exploration.
These include: expanding early intervention
programs to provide enrichment for children at
increased developmental risk; banks requiring
lead removal before approving mortgages, and
insisting on disclosure of known lead hazards at
foreclosure sales; local governments requiring
proof of lead-safe work practices when issuing
permits; and federal and local government health
and housing agencies strengthening enforcement
of existing laws.
Finally, all of us can play a greater role
in connecting the dots between children’s
success and environmental hazards and
advocating for change.
■
AnitaWeinberg
is a clinical professor of law and director of Loyola’s ChildLaw Policy Institute, housed within the Civitas ChildLaw Center. The policy institute seeks to improve the lives of children and
families in Illinois by developing and promoting child-centered laws, policies, and practices, and building coalitions and partnerships to improve the functioning of the legal, social welfare, juvenile justice,
health care, and other systems that impact underrepresented children and families. The Lead Safe Housing Initiative, which launched in 1999, has brought Illinois closer to a prevention focus, and advocates
for policy reform, promotes public awareness, and fosters collaborations. Loyola law students are actively involved in all policy institute projects headed by Weinberg.
BY
PROFESSOR ANITA WEINBERG
Professor Anita Weinberg
››
FACULTY RESEARCH
TAKING THE LEAD
IN ENDING LEAD
POISONING
Education is the key
to eradicating the
continuing problem.
SPRING 2013
23
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LOYOLA LAW
