U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown met with federal and local officials in Cleveland today to talk about protecting people from lead poisoning.
He said earlier this week his concerns extend beyond the lead that has shown up in water supplies in Sebring and in Flint, Mich. He notes that in older cities like Cleveland, Akron and Canton, the problem is more often lead in flaking paint in houses and in soil.
“I was in the neighborhood where the smelters were that were closed down in parts of Cleveland, where families didn’t even know there had been a smelter there a generation ago. And the dirt where their children play is contaminated, and we’re trying to deal with those issues, too. We have a congress that doesn’t want to fund things like that, but to me there’s nothing more important for government to do than preserve the health and safety of children.”
Brown acknowledges Congress did OK $2 billion for the so-called hardest-hit fund to clear away and renovate blighted buildings. He says 40,000 children in Cuyahoga County have been diagnosed with lead contamination over the last 15 years.
