August 2013 | Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law
Abstract: Although lead paint was banned by federal law in 1978, it continues to poison children living in homes built before that time. The lifelong effects of childhood exposure to even small amounts of lead are well established by medical research and include learning and behavior problems, hypertension, osteoporosis, and kidney disease. Federal and state laws have reduced rates of lead poisoning significantly in […]
July 22, 2013 | New York Times
By midmorning, the smell of hot peanut oil dissipated and inside the tightly sealed laboratory known as Building 51F, a pink hamburger sizzled in a pan over a raging gas flame. Overhead, fans whirred, whisking caustic smoke up through a metallic esophagus of ductwork.
Woody Delp, 49, a longhaired engineer in glasses — the Willie Nelson of HVAC — supervised the green bean and hamburger experiments. He […]
July 18, 2013 | Huffington Post
Despite an internal company memo in 1900 that read, “any paint is poisonous in proportion to the percentage of lead contained in it,” Sherwin-Williams Co. went on to become a leading lead-based paint manufacturer and to promote with other members of the industry the use of paint with large percentages of lead – “the higher, the better.”
“White lead should be the basic ingredient of all white paint and light […]
July 8, 2013 | Detroit Free Press
For several years, Detroit has been engaged in efforts to improve the performance of its public schools. Indeed, K-12 reform of one kind or another has been going on for decades. There are surely many factors that can contribute to poor educational outcomes. However, there is one that’s not in doubt: lead poisoning.
Researchers from the University of Michigan and University of South Florida, the Detroit Public Schools and other […]
July 3, 2013 | Reuters
The solid red brick house on a block of similar homes in Northwest Detroit sounds like a steal at $3,728.
But in many ways, it’s a lemon.
The house, sold at an auction last fall, sits at the edge of Detroit’s infamous urban blight. And scrap thieves, or “strippers,” have taken anything of value, including the kitchen sink and metal pipes, requiring repairs of up to $15,000.
June 25, 2013 | The Atlantic
For the wealth of information available on rental sites like Craigslist, or real-estate platforms like Trulia, there’s a certain category of crucial information that you just can’t get from charming property write-ups, sunlit photos, or even walk-throughs. Namely, all the bad stuff: code violations against the landlord for broken plumbing or faulty heat, noise complaints, that nagging history of chemical contamination.
It’s about to become much easier, however, to […]
June 5, 2013 | Michigan Chronicle
In an effort to assist local community organizations more effectively help their low income clients find and keep healthy, safe and affordable homes, CLEARCorps Detroit is conducting a forum on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at the Greater Mt. Zion Baptist Church in which crucial information will be shared that will greatly assist their efforts. Over 50 Detroit-based churches, housing corporations, Head Start programs, and environmental groups will be in […]
May 14, 2013 | HealthDay News
Even children with low levels of lead in their blood score lower on reading-readiness tests when they begin kindergarten, a new study found.
“We now know that poorer scores on reading-readiness tests are associated with low lead levels,” said researcher Patricia McLaine, director of community/public health nursing at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “That’s important, because we are very concerned about children having sufficient reading readiness when […]
April 28, 2013 | Detroit Free Press
Light struggles to shine the through windows of the dark attic where Heidi Peterson and her 18-month-old daughter, Sarah, now make their life.
A TV playing cartoons, and the high chair from which Sarah watches them, are two of just a few pieces of furniture in what has become their living space.
They have cornered themselves here, in their otherwise large old home on Edison Street, because health inspectors say […]
April 18, 2013 | Detroit Free Press
Since the late 1990s, tremendous strides have been made in the reduction of severe lead poisoning in young children in Detroit and Michigan, however today that progress is being threatened by reductions in funding.
Since 1998 Detroit has experienced an 89% decrease in lead poisoning in young children (4,846 children in 1998 to 545 in 2011) while the State of Michigan has experienced a 87% decrease (7,144 […]