From: Robina Suwol
Date: 29 Sep 2002
Time: 15:29:55
Remote Name: 24.28.136.51
From
the Birmingham (AL) Post-Herald, Sept. 20, 2002
-------
Lead Threatens Residents
Disorders traced to paint in many older domiciles
By MARY KUEHNER
SPECIAL TO THE POST-HERALD
Alice Moore just wanted a fresh coat of paint for her Fulton Avenue house near
Titusville.
What she got, with the help of a federally funded program, was the knowledge
many in her situation lack: Her house was coated with lead-based paint, and that
it had poisoned her three children.
Moore first called the city of Birmingham to get house painting help with the
Paint for Pride program, but after inspectors found lead paint throughout the
house, Moore, 33, was referred to the Citizens Lead Education and Poisoning
Prevention program. The program and an initiative of the UAB School of Public
Health, the Healthy Homes program, are designed to aid children living in
low-income housing in targeted areas of Birmingham.
Aided by an $850,000 three-year grant, the goal is to eliminate health hazards
in more than 115 homes in West End, Woodlawn and Brighton-Lipscomb. While CLEPP
targets lead poisoning, the Healthy Home program will help eliminate other
safety hazards from the home, such as mold, or structural problems, such as
electrical hazards. Local residents will be trained to educate their neighbors
in spotting problems like lead paint or mold, officials said.
Moore said after contacting the Birmingham-run CLEPP, inspectors checked her
home, and told her it was "full of lead," she said.
"You hear on the news about all the death and crime, but with something
like this, right in your home, nobody says anything until it's too late,"
said Moore, whose children, Joshua Epps, 12, Jessica Epps, 9, and Warren Moore
Jr., 2, all tested far above the dangerous levels for lead poisoning.
"People need to know about this," she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers a lead level of 10
micrograms per decileter of blood in children to be damaging. Joshua registered
38, Jessica 31 and Warren 27, Moore said.
Moore said her children all have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a
condition Moore believes is linked to lead poisoning. All are being treated for
lead poisoning, she said.
Whitlynn Battle, executive director of CLEPP, said lead poisoning in some
Birmingham neighborhoods is a major problem.
"Many children living in low-income housing suffer permanent learning and
other disabilities as a result of lead," Battle said in a statement.
Older homes like Moore's are typical for lead poisoning, Battle said. They were
built before 1978 in neighborhoods that were once affluent but have changed into
predominantly low income, she said.
More than 80 percent of American homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint,
and most of these families have no idea until they attempt to remodel, Battle
said. Sometimes they learn of the problem when their children fall ill, she
said.
Nationally, about 27 percent of children living in older, low-income communities
are considered lead-poisoned, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And
lead poisoning affects an estimated 890,000 American preschoolers, meaning about
4.4 percent of children ages 1 to 5 have too much lead in their bodies, the CDC
reported.
Beyond inspecting homes, Battle and others are hoping a home hazards education
program will help spread the word about lead contamination and other potential
problems.
Ken Dillon, associate professor of health at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham, said its first class of environmentalists graduated from the
program, all women living in the targeted problem areas.
"Our environmentalists are community residents trained to conduct home
assessments, and develop plans to reduce hazards," Dillon said. "We
now have five graduates, the first of 17 we plan to recruit and train."
The environmentalists report once a week with a list of houses that need
repairs.
For now, Moore and her family are living in the same home, but plan to move to a
"safe" house being purchased by the CLEPP organization. When
renovated, Moore's house will be lead — and other hazard — free, and Moore
and her
family will move back in.
Lead poisoning
For more information, contact:
Citizens Lead Education and Poisoning Prevention program — 780-8077
Healthy Homes Initiative — 934-8488