Cleveland has the highest lead poisoning rate in the country, according to health officials. The problem is in old lead paint, not the pipes. City officials met Monday to discuss changes they’re making following last week’s report showing nearly a dozen cases of lead poisoning in homes that had been certified clean.
Testing for lead poisoning in children under the age of six has fallen from 11,000 children tested in 2019 to 8,000 in 2020, according to the Cleveland Department of Public Health. The testing numbers have stayed at 8,000 since then, and the amount of testing varies across the city.
When it comes to screening homes for lead contamination, Director of Public Health David Margolius said the health department commits to encouraging more thorough exams that can pinpoint current and future risks of lead exposure.
"We focus more heavily on encouraging property owners to use the lead risk assessment instead of just the clearance exam," he said. "We're going to promote better the 20-year pathway, so that more property owners are choosing the path towards abatement, getting that lead out."
Currently, the certification process requires a lead clearance test that uses visual examination and dust wiping to measure the presence of lead-based paint on a property at one specific point in time, according to the report.
The lead risk assessment requires the visual examination and dust wiping as well as paint sampling on painted surfaces.
The current positive cases raise questions about the certification process conducted by the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, Councilmember Rebecca Maurer said.
"Is that testing standard of the lead safe clearance exam, is that a high enough standard to get where we need to go?" she said. "The Bibb administration on Friday talked about moving towards essentially one notch up on the rung of options to go from a clearance exam to a risk assessment."
It's not yet clear why 11 children tested positive for high levels of lead in previously certified properties, according to Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition Steering Committee Member Ayonna Blue Donald.
The coalition will work with the city to investigate.
"I welcome the conversation with the city and digging a little bit deeper into those properties and what could or could not have happened," she said.
Conversations between council and the coalition are expected to continue.
In addition to adoption of the lead risk assessment, Margolius said he hopes to see a larger, collaborative investment in lead remediation city-wide.
