Lead in the News

Cleveland can learn from the work of activists and policy makers  around the Country

February 2025

Is the Milwaukee Schools lead crisis the next "Flint"? Here's the latest

The Milwaukee School Saga last week's news.


Around Us-Milwaukee School crisis week of Feb 2nd

Around CLASH

To Brent Larkin: "Your op/ed today was almost perfectly on point, except for failing to call out the underlying cause for poor school performance in Cleveland. Neglecting to address childhood lead poisoning will forever doom Cleveland's children to "remedial" education because of the neurological damage of lead in years 1-5. Take a look  at CLASH's Tool Kit for Lead Safety and you'll see that every sector of Cleveland's establishment has work to do to eliminate children's exposure to lead. From the failure of the WIC program to offer pre- and neonatal lead testing and the Cleveland Department of Public Health's refusal to do child lead testing from their two mobile health vans, we've got to find children with lead exposure as soon as possible. And we need to support the ambitious, but still faltering, efforts to make Lead Safe Certificate Law a reality and get the lead out of homes of the poorest families. Cleveland is awash in opportunities to turn the corner from lead-sick to prosperous. A generational struggle begins now. Keep up the work."


Around Cleveland

Around Ohio


Around Us

Around Us -- Another Milwaukee story

February 10, 2025. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel You ask, we answer: Why are some Milwaukee neighborhoods getting their lead pipes replaced first? CLASH asks "what is Cleveland's plan?"


Around Us--Another Wisconsin story with Ohio Implications

February 10, 2025. Superior Telegram. Superior council delays vote on bill allowing SWL&P access to lead pipe funds "When city councilors meet again Feb. 19, they’ll consider a resolution involving federal lead pipe replacement funding. The resolution was proposed by councilors Brent Fennessey and Mark Johnson on Wednesday, Feb. 5, but a vote was postponed. It would support a proposed bill to amend state law to allow a private company to use federal capitalization grant funds for lead line replacements. State Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood, and Rep. Chanz Green, R-Grand View, have announced they are introducing the bill." CLASH has a couple questions:

Around Cleveland -- WOW this is big news

February 3, 2025. Signal Cleveland. Mayor Justin Bibb’s $2.1 billion budget calls for tackling blight. "First Cleveland needs more staff to do it The latest spending plan shows the city will have work to do filling code enforcement vacancies. Cleveland will have around 30 code enforcement vacancies to fill this year, according to Mayor Justin Bibb’s 2025 budget proposal. This year’s spending plan calls for 120 positions in the code enforcement division of the Building and Housing Department. Only 92 people worked there as of December 2024, according to the budget estimate. In a letter introducing the budget proposal, Bibb wrote that 'tackling blight through aggressive enforcement' would be a key priority."


Around Cleveland -- More WOW

Around Cleveland -- Meanwhile what ever happened to the Xmas Eve announcement of enforcement?

Dec. 24, 2024. cleveland.com. Thousands of Cleveland landlords are about to get hit with a hefty fine. "“We intend to launch them with a bang,” Martin O’Toole told council members. The city was supposed to start writing tickets in November, but Martin O’Toole told cleveland.com that IT issues had delayed that plan. City spokesmen Jorge Ramos Pantoja said inspectors now plan to start issuing tickets in the first few months of 2025, potentially in January. Inspectors will start with thousands of unregistered rental properties."  CLASH recalls when B&H director Ayonna Blue Donald (currently on the Steering Committee of the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition) announced that "enforcement is near" in 2021.


Around Cuyahoga

February 5, 2025. WEWS Council member wants answers as group home seeks million-dollar extension.  "Wednesday, County Councilman Martin J. Sweeney questioned the county’s head of Health and Human Services about our report. 'When it’s reported in the public and people call me and say ‘Sweeney, it looks like they’re getting a contract again, can you give us reassurance that the children that are in our custody, our care are being taken care of?' " CLASH has repeatedly asked the County to assure that the foster care facilities (even temporary) are certified lead safe. 


Around Ohio 

Around the US -- Trump-ets are blowing

Around Us 


Around Us -- Syracuse makes workforce Progress

Feb. 07, 2025. Syracuse.com Onondaga County trains small army of contractors to put a dent in childhood lead poisonings "Onondaga County has trained a small army of lead safety contractors in the past year in a bid to shorten wait times for low-income families with young children vulnerable to lead poisoning.Nearly 400 people have received certifications to remove or remediate lead in the past year under a new county program, Onondaga County’s director of lead operations Jessica Vinciguerra told county legislators last month. It’s time now to see if that workforce can put a dent in the thousands of Syracuse residences with exposed lead paint. '2025 is a big year for us..., because we spent so much of 2024 building up the workforce,' Vinciguerra said. While the county runs the lead abatement program, a majority of the residences fixed up under the program are in the city of Syracuse."


Around the World

Ready to volunteer?

Feb. 05, 2025, cleveland.com. Stand up to dysfunctional leaders by working with your neighbors for change. "As we watch our national leaders move swiftly to remove our rights and enrich themselves, and watch some of our local leaders behave unethically with little accountability, it’s understandable if you want to just ... disengage. To unplug. To throw in the towel. After all, you can only take in so much. But I invite you to do the opposite. To get involved. To work with neighbors. To demand better. Our leaders don’t want us to do that -- they want us to argue with one another instead of holding them accountable. We must employ that famous Cleveland stubbornness and not give in. And there are many ways you can get engaged. You can speak during public comment at a City Council meeting. You can get involved with or donate to an organization that is fighting for our rights (like the Northeast Ohio Worker Center, ACLU Ohio, and Showing Up for Racial Justice). Or you can build the skills it will require to run for local office or take on a leadership role in the community. There are many local programs that will help you do that, like Cleveland VOTES’ Democracy Collective or the Cleveland Leadership Center. Brianna Zgodinski," Visit CLASH Volunteer page




January 2025

Around CLASH

Around Ohio: All toledo all the time

CLASH says: Toledo's first ordinance was the impetus for the formation of Cleveland Lead Safe Network and CLASH. As Jerry Garcia sang "What a long strange trip it's been." 


Around Us

Around Us -- Roll back lead protections?

Around Us -- New Academic Studies


Around Cleveland

City Council's Health, Human Services and the Arts Committee - A presentation by the City's Division of Health, Equity and Social Justice. The meeting will be live broadcast. See meeting notice for details. Monday, January 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM EST. Maybe they will talk about lead. CLASH is waiting to hear if the Mayor will bring new legislation to Council in light of his Executive Order.


Around Ohio

Around Us -- complying with CDC standard for child lead levels.


Around US

Around Us: Citizen Advocacy

More on LeadSafeCNY

Around Us -- Autism scam

January 24, 2025. CBS News  "Autism detox" treatments are not science-backed and have health risks, experts warn. "Misinformation is circling online about so-called 'autism detox treatments,' with products promising to reverse autism diagnoses by removing toxins and heavy metals from the bloodstream. The products are often made with the mineral zeolite and sold as tinctures, sprays and more, marketed especially for kids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says these detox products are not approved to treat autism and warns that they can carry significant health risks — and other experts are sharing similar concerns. 'There is absolutely no science behind this,' Dr. Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, said on 'CBS Mornings Plus' Wednesday. 'There's no science behind the idea that individuals with autism have a higher load of any of these heavy metals. It's been tested and disproven. There's no reason for parents to use these artificial detoxes like zeolite minerals.' " This is an important issue since the symptoms of childhood lead poisoning and autism are often similar. In either case, there is no home remedy.


Around Us -- Lead from Urban Fires

Jan. 20, 2025 New York Times Airborne Lead and Chlorine Levels Soared as L.A. Wildfires Raged "The findings give new insight into the dangers of urban wildfires that burn plastics and other chemicals in homes and property. At the height of the Los Angeles County wildfires, atmospheric concentrations of lead, a neurotoxin, reached 100 times average levels even miles from the flames, according to early detailed measurements obtained by The New York Times. Levels of chlorine, which is also toxic at low concentrations, reached 40 times the average. The spiking levels underscore the added danger from wildfires when cars, homes, and other structures burn, researchers said. Lead is often present in paint and pipes used in older homes, while chlorine and other chemicals are generated when plastic melts or combusts."


Around Us-Trump "Fires" HUD  Inspector general

Around Cleveland

Around Us

Around Us and nearby

January 14, 2025. Guardian. Revealed: US hazardous waste is sent to Mexico – where a ‘toxic cocktail’ of pollution emerges. "A Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab investigation finds very high levels of lead and arsenic in homes near a factory processing US toxic waste. Samples taken by wiping the home’s indoor window sills found lead, which is neurotoxic, at levels 60 times higher than the level at which the US says action should be taken to fix the problem to avoid health consequences." CLASH calls to your attention that one of the US sources identified in the story is the Republic Steel plant in Canton Ohio, which was shutdown in 2024. Ohio’s U.S. Senators want to stop surge of Mexican steel imports details efforts to block the shutdown of the Canton plant while US and Ohio EPA were suing the plant owners. Meanwhile Canton residents are glad the mill is gone.


Around Cleveland


Around Us--School Water--pipes or fixtures

Around Us--Lead in baby food


Around Us--Immigrant Communities

Around Us--Enforcement of Lead Safe Standards

Around Europe-not really "news" just a new study


Around Cleveland--Quick! Lets build more sports stadiums

Jan. 02, 2025. More than half of children in this Cuyahoga County city are in poverty - new census estimates. "Cleveland’s child poverty rate is 45.3%, the ninth highest in the state and the highest for any city in the United States with a population over 300,000. Detroit (44.2%) and Memphis (34.7%) follow." 


Around Cleveland--Other news

Around Us--Lead Water Line Reports

December 29, 2024. MyChesCo Wilmington Tackles Lead with Cutting-Edge Service Line Mapping—A National Model in the Making. "Forget the past – Wilmington is rewriting its water infrastructure’s future. The City, in partnership with Wilmington Water and the University of Delaware Water Resources Center, is leading the charge against lead contamination with its groundbreaking Service Line Inventory Map. This ambitious initiative not only ensures Wilmington’s compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) revised Lead and Copper Rule, but it also positions the city as a beacon of progress for public health and infrastructure reform."  FWIW. Cleveland Water Department has sent letters to homeowners about possible lead lines and has posted a new map of lead lines, but no public statement.


Around Us-Lead and Mental Health Impacts

December 28, 2024. SciTech Daily. 151 Million People Affected: New Study Reveals That Leaded Gas Permanently Damaged American Mental Health. "New research reveals that childhood exposure to lead, peaking from 1960 to 1990 due to leaded gasoline, has significantly contributed to mental health issues and personality changes. By 2015, researchers estimate 151 million excess mental disorders were attributable to lead exposure, with the greatest impact on Generation X, highlighting the long-term consequences of environmental exposures. Childhood lead exposure from leaded gasoline has caused widespread mental health issues, particularly in Generation X, highlighting the dangers of delayed environmental regulation. A recent study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reveals that childhood exposure to lead, which reached its highest levels between 1960 and 1990 in many industrialized nations due to leaded gasoline use, has adversely affected mental health. This exposure is likely linked to numerous cases of mental illness and changes in personality."


Around Us--Child Lead Testing

December 30, 2024. WGIL Health officials: New intervention level aims to catch lead poisoning early. "The Knox County [Illinois] Health Department has announced that as of Jan. 1, the new lead intervention level will go from 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to 3.5 µg/dL. This change is to catch lead poisoning early to help prevent long term effects for children and remove or control exposure.  [.....] Children who test at or above 3.5 µg/dL will be contacted and receive a scheduled home visit from the Health Department Lead Nurse and Risk Assessor to learn ways to lower the blood lead level, reduce lead exposure, and conduct a home inspection to find the source(s) of the child’s lead exposure. If a home has lead, the owner will receive  a notice, and they will be asked to remove the lead from their home as quickly as possible, with a follow-up inspection from the health department to make sure that the lead was removed entirely." More here: Jan 1, 2025 Stricter lead testing rules for children take effect in Illinois. Interesting! In Ohio, health departments are not required to do a home inspection until children's BLL are 10 micrograms/deciliter or higher.


Around Us--Heavy metals in Baby Food

December 31, 2024. LA Times via Yahoo. California baby food labels will soon reveal levels of lead and mercury in their products. "Beginning Wednesday, baby food makers that sell products in California will have to make a major shift toward transparency and provide a QR code on their packaging that takes consumers to test results for the presence in their product of four heavy metals: lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium. [.....] The change, required under a California law passed by the Legislature in 2023, will impact consumers nationwide. Because companies are unlikely to create separate packaging for the California market, QR codes are likely to be present on products sold across the country, and consumers everywhere will be able to view the heavy metal concentrations." This story contains a great deal of information about lead contamination in children's food.


Around Us -- Financial assistance for Lead Remediation

Dec 31, 2024 Michigan's Thumb MDHHS and Michigan Saves launch program to help with lead abatement costs "Homeowners, property owners, and landlords who aren’t eligible for free local or state lead abatement services may not be out of luck.The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with Michigan Saves to create the Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund. This program provides a 50/50 loan match program for those described above. Michigan Saves is the nation’s first nonprofit green bank. The organization has been around for approximately 10 years." More on this story here: New Michigan program will cover half the cost of lead abatement for eligible families


Around Us -- Lead Safe Registry

Jan 2, 2025. News 10.com New York launching lead paint rental registry. "State seeks public comment on safety efforts targeting pre-1980 construction. As the New York State Department of Health (DOH) prepares to implement new measures to address lead poisoning, they’re seeking public feedback. The new lead rental registry, designed to protect kids from exposure to lead, will require inspections for and tracking of rentals in buildings built before 1980. [.....] The lead rental registry built on a successful model used in Rochester. It’s part of a broader $120 million initiative to eliminate lead statewide. According to the state’s analysis, every dollar spent on preventing lead poisoning saves $25 to $327 in healthcare and education costs."


Around Us-Lead in Consumer Products

January 2, 2025. Consumer Products Safety Commission press release. Yaomiao Children’s Jewelry Sets Recalled Due to Risk of Lead and Cadmium Poisoning; Violations of the Federal Lead Content Ban and Federal Hazardous Substances Act; Sold Exclusively on Amazon by LordRoads


December 2024

CLASH News

Happier new year in 2025.  This year It takes you to tango. Make your year end donation to CLASH. Don't take our word for it. In his new book Where We Live, local historian Randy Cunningham says CLASH is "...one of the most successful grassroots initiatives in the recent history of Cleveland.


Around Us


Around Cleveland

Around US: most of the stories are variations on older stories. 

A CLASHer Has A Question

A CLASHer asks: "I'm wondering if you know how we could go about testing our water for lead? OH EPA? Local water department? Appreciate any tips!" We provided a link to Cleveland Water Department's home sampling program

CLASH's lead professional listserv suggested Accurate Analytical Testing in Michigan. Any other thoughts?



Worth a thought

Dec 17, 2024. Santa Barbara Independent. Money Talks: Self-Driving Cars, Lead Gas, Hidden Data Companies Will No Longer Have to Report Traffic Deaths. "Lead was finally only taken out of our engines by the tragic Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969. President Nixon visited our oil-soaked beaches and decided to establish the Environmental Protection Agency. A year later, Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1970. This new law mandated that by 1975, every newly manufactured car must have a catalytic converter built into it. The problem for the Ethyl Corporation was that their lead additive also killed the catalytic converters and caused cars to die at the gas pump. The result was that, finally, unleaded gasoline became what we put in our cars. The point is that greed will always prevail if you leave the safety and governance of things as ubiquitous as cars to be determined by corporations. The result is massive profit for the companies and massive suffering for the rest of us." WOW...the stuff you never knew.


Around CLASH

Around Cleveland--Push back from Lead Safe Advisory Board

Elsewhere Around Cleveland

Around Ohio

December 10, 2024 91.7 WVXU Everything you need to know about lead water pipes in Cincinnati. The story title says it all.


Around Us

Around Us--Nothing gets the attention of scofflaws than enforcement.


CLASH news


Around Cleveland

Around Us.

November 28, 2024. Erie Times-News. Could Erie see testing for lead-based paint become part of rental registration program? "Other municipalities nationwide have mandated testing for lead-based paint as part of their rental registration/inspection programs for properties. The city of Erie’s rental registration program currently does not require units to be tested for the presence of lead-based paint. Aaron Snippert, the executive director of the Erie Redevelopment Authority, would like that to change. Snippert wants Erie City Council to consider amending the rental registration program’s rules to include “some kind of lead testing component” as part of Erie’s efforts to combat the presence of lead paint in homes citywide."


Around Us: Citizen Action

Around Us-The letters keep coming as Water Departments comply with new Lead and Copper Rule requirements.

Around Us--Immigrant Households especially impacted

11/25/2024 Minneapolis Post. We can curb the lead exposure that continues to harm immigrant communities. "Minneapolis could help by adopting stricter policies, such as mandatory lead inspections for rental units. As an advocate working with these communities, I witness firsthand the harmful effects of lead poisoning on families, especially children. Lead exposure, which causes developmental delays, learning difficulties and severe health problems, remains a serious issue in older Minneapolis homes. Immigrant families often face barriers in the housing market — such as lack of credit history, little rental history, low-paying jobs and language barriers — that limit their access to safer, affordable housing. Landlords are slow to respond, and the city struggles to enforce remediation."

November 2024

CLASH News


Around Ohio

Around Us

Around Us -- Citizens demand action.

Around Us--Syracuse responds to citizen disorder

Around Us-Poverty in the Lead Belt

Top 10 Places With the Lowest Median Income. A new study shows low income cities abound in the Lead Belt. Just a coincidence? 


Around  CLASH

Cleveland Heights Lead Safe Fair was a goldilocks event. Busy enough that we never got bored, but not so busy that we had plenty of time to answer questions and discuss lead safety options. Thanks to Zach Ravanelli for providing space for CLASH at the event and thanks to Molly and Chantal for tabling. We were busy enough that everyone forgot to take pictures.


Around Cleveland


Around Ohio

Around Us


Around Us -- Using State Medicaid dollars for lead remediation.


Around Us -- Your water is fine, but we are changing your pipes anyhow

If deteriorated lead paint is the biggest problem, why all the concern with water? Journalist Dan McGraw asked CLASH to explain. 

1. You may not live in a poorly maintained  pre-1978 rental property, but everyone drinks the same water. Many households are "at risk" because of lead service lines.

2. Right now, water departments all over the US are reaching out to their customers to let them know if they may be "at risk". 

3. For CLASH, lead pipes removal provides a teaching moment for folks who believe that lead poisoning is just about low income inner city homes. Lead is everywhere you look and there is no safe level of exposure.


Around Us-Syracuse under pressure from citizens

Around Cleveland (sort of...)

November 6, 2024. Loyola Phoenix (the official student newspaper of Loyola University Chicago.) Lead in Infrastructure is a Dangerous Pipeline. "Lead pipes are more political and perilous than meets the eye. Lead poisoning is one of the biggest environmental and humanitarian injustices facing America, and not enough people are talking about it. [.....] Around 9.2 million lead pipes make up the national service line infrastructure, according to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency. There’s a heavy concentration of lead pipes in the Rust Belt, with Ohio and Illinois listed as two out of the 50 states with the highest levels of lead service lines. My hometown of Cleveland has lead-poisoning levels nearly four times the national average, according to News 5 Cleveland. To put this into perspective, Flint, MI in 2016 reported elevated lead levels in children of 7% to 10%, while Cleveland is seeing around 12% to 13% of children with elevated lead levels, with some neighborhoods reaching rates near 25%, according to Case Western Reserve."


Around Us

Around Us--The letters are going out

Around US-NYCHA tenants sue over Right to Know

Nov 5, 2024 Gothamist. NYCHA tenants sue city, saying agency does not disclose rats, lead, other hazards "Three New York City public housing residents are suing a top city official, saying his agency failed to publish violations for hazards like rat infestations, mold blooms and lead paint in an online database, as required by law. The residents, all of whom live in New York City Housing Authority apartments, accuse Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Adolfo Carrión of ignoring a 2022 state law meant to make conditions in the city’s 177,000 public housing apartments publicly available in an online database. That database, known as HPD Online, already publishes information about privately owned buildings in the city — including violations and bedbug reports."


Around Us-Minneapolis

November 3, 2024. Minnesota Daily. City seeking end to childhood lead poisoning. "Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is planning an over $1 million investment in his 2025 budget to make Minneapolis the first city in the country to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. Minneapolis reported 112 children with high levels of lead in their blood in 2022, according to the Minneapolis Health Department. Across the entire state, nearly 700 Minnesota children have elevated blood lead levels each year. The City of Minneapolis has invested and secured about $60 million to ensure homes are safe and free from lead since 1998. Council Member Jason Chavez (Ward 9) said the City Council approved around $1.9 million for the Minneapolis’ Lead and Healthy Homes program.Minneapolis Health Department’s Lead and Healthy Homes Manager Alex Vollmer said lead is found primarily in deteriorated paint in homes and consumer products like makeup, ceramic cookware, international candies, medicines and soil."

'The Lead and Healthy Homes team offers free lead testing for children in Minneapolis communities in the Leadie Eddie van (seen above).


November 04, 2024. Press RELEASE Department of Codes & Regulations launches new software for Rental Registry "LOUISVILLE, Ky. (November 4, 2024) – The Department of Codes & Regulations has introduced a new software, Slate, to improve user experience and simplify the management process for property owners to register their long-term rentals. The Rental Registry program, created by Metro Council in 2022, aims to enhance transparency across rental properties in the city and improve the well-being of tenants. The Slate program, created by Tolemi, has achieved considerable success in various other cities such as Monterey, CA, and Lakewood, WA. The platform is well-regarded for its intuitive interface and its effectiveness in ensuring adherence to rental regulations. This new software will enable property owners to register their properties swiftly and effortlessly.


Around Cleveland

Nov. 03, 2024. cleveland.com. Cleveland’s lead crisis demands action. No more half-measures, no more excuses: editorial "Five years ago, Cleveland set out to make history with a law aimed at safeguarding children from the dangers of lead paint. Yet, five years later, we’re staring at failure. Instead of celebrating a milestone in public health, we’re stuck in a crisis where lead poisoning remains an ever-present threat, especially to Cleveland’s youngest and most vulnerable residents. The numbers are shocking. Childhood lead poisoning rates in Cleveland are two to three times higher than those seen in Flint, Michigan, during the height of its infamous lead crisis, Cleveland Public Health Director Dr. David Margolius recently told City Council. From 2021 to 2023, over 4,200 children under the age of five were poisoned. And what progress has been made? None. We have nearly $100 million allocated for lead abatement, yet only $6.2 million has been spent. Meanwhile, lead poisoning rates have not decreased; in fact, they’ve climbed. Five years gone. Thousands of kids harmed. And a $93 million pool sitting largely unspent. It’s unconscionable."


News from Around Us

Around Us -- Chronic low level exposure, long term disability

Around Us-Reaction to Lead Dust Standards

October 2024

Busy week for CLASHers

RRP Training on Thursday, Faith and Leaders Luncheon on Friday and Lead Safe Resource Fair on Saturday.  Keep in mind that CLASH is an all volunteer, mostly self-funded, coalition of grassroots organizations working to make Cleveland lead safe. Your donation will help us continue to reach out to at risk Clevelanders and public officials. Our low overhead means CLASH has high independence. Your support assures our ability to speak truth to power.


Around Cleveland

Cleveland's Lead Screening and Testing Commission met last Thursday with strong presentations of the special needs of immigrant communities facing lead risks. Link to the recording is here:   https://clevelandhealth.org/programs/environment/lead_test_screening_commission/ 

Link to the CDPH Data Brief is here: https://clevelandhealth.org/assets/documents/health/health_statistics/Lead_Poisoning_Data_Brief_2023.pdf


PD and Bibb. Oct. 24, 2024. Cleveland.com. How our journalism stands apart on lead paint, Browns stadium and Issue 1: Letter from the Editor. "Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb sent out a press release recently to describe his plan for reversing the abject, inexplicable failure of the city to address lead poisoning of children. The release gave reporters a choice. Lead the story with Bibb’s plan for addressing the failure. Or, lead with the previously unknown fact that the program is such a failure. I’m sure Bibb would have preferred the former, which is the path some Cleveland newsrooms took. But the real news here was not how Bibb planned to fix the problem. It was the problem itself: Five years after launching a program to finally, after decades of failure, reduce the number of children poisoned by lead, the city had made zero progress. Bibb’s press release was spin. Rather than announce the failure, he cast his solutions as the news. If I were him, I’d have done the same thing. And I’m glad he is getting more aggressive in dealing with his scourge. Also, he did acknowledge the program’s failure, which many politicians would not have done. Our job, though, is to see through spin and inform our readers of the news. Reporter Courtney Astolfi did include Bibb’s planned fixes in her report, but the staggering impact of the failure was the bigger news." 


Around Ohio

Around Us

Around Us--Lead in Schools

October 25, 2024 Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Nearly 1,500 water fixtures replaced in Hawaiʻi schools to reduce lead exposure. "Hawaiʻi was one of seven recipients of an Environmental Protection Agency grant to retrofit water fixtures in elementary schools and preschool centers. Millions of dollars have gone into replacing problematic fixtures across the state. HPR talked to Dr. Diana Felton, the toxicologist for the state Department of Health, about a project to ensure drinking water in Hawaiʻi public schools is lead-free. The initial surveying of school sites was funded by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act."


Around Us - New Lead Paint Standards

Around Us -- Funding Lead Pipe Replacement

Around Us -- Universal Child Testing

October 23, 2024  City of Milwaukee. MHD Issues New Testing Recommendations to Protect Children "MHD [Milwaukee Health Department] has updated its testing guidelines to better safeguard children in the city. Previously, MHD did not recommend universal testing annually after 24 months unless a child tested positive for elevated blood lead levels. However, due to Milwaukee’s large population, the high prevalence of lead paint and other lead hazards, and the deterioration of older homes, MHD is now adopting a more aggressive testing schedule than both its previous recommendations and the state’s current guidelines. MHD’s new recommendations call for universal blood lead testing for all children in Milwaukee at 12, 18, and 24 months, and then annually through the age of 5, regardless of their previous testing schedule or results. This approach provides earlier detection and more frequent monitoring in areas at high risk for lead exposure." Backgrounder:  Oct 27, 2024. DHS Encourages Wisconsinites to Take Action to Prevent Childhood Lead Poisoning."Earlier this year, DHS issued updated lead testing recommendations, calling for all children to be tested for exposure to lead at ages 1 and 2. Children between 3 and 5 years old who have not been previously tested should also undergo screening for lead poisoning. Wisconsin communities with high rates of lead exposure due to the age of housing or other lead hazards may have additional testing recommendations." 


Around Us -- Consumer products

October 25, 2024. NPR. Lead in cinnamon: Where do things stand, 1 year after a scary recall? "In the 2024 fiscal year, 'FDA physically examined 50,135 lines and sampled 11,780 lines of human foods coming into the U.S.,' the spokesperson says. 'While FDA physically examines less than 2% of shipments, we electronically screen 100% of all shipments and sample from the highest risk shipments.' The FDA says it has only limited tools for reducing exposure to toxic elements such as lead in the food supply. It's been asking Congress to give it new authority to establish binding contamination limits in foods, especially those consumed by infants and young children. But those efforts have not succeeded."


Around Us -- Lead in Public Housing

Around Cleveland since the Mayor's Executive Order

Around Ohio

Oct. 15, 2024. cleveland.com. Akron and Summit County get HUD grants for lead abatement. "Akron and Summit County are getting more than $10 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove lead poisoning hazards from homes and HUD-assisted properties. The local awards were among more than $420 million HUD announced last week across 32 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. More than $77 million of that money is going to communities in the Great Lakes region. HUD announced Akron is getting a $7,750,000 lead hazard reduction grant, and Summit County is getting $6,098,902. The State of Ohio is getting $5,750,000."


New lead research: hope or hype?

Will the hype live up to the hope? Here's an example of a flawed technology that had to be fixed. 

October 9, 2024. Reuters. Lead testing device company Magellan sentenced for concealing defects. "A federal judge on Wednesday signed-off on a plea agreement resolving charges against Magellan Diagnostics that it concealed a malfunction in its lead-testing devices that led to thousands of patients receiving inaccurately low results. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston accepted the plea agreement and imposed a sentence requiring Magellan to pay $32.7 million, a portion of the overall $42 million it agreed to pay as part a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice whose "unusual" terms Saris had previously questioned."  FWIW: Ohio Department of Health has been monitoring Magellan Diagnostic products and advising health professionals.


CLASH suspects that everyone in Cleveland is focused on lead paint, but the news nationally is EPA's New Lead and Copper rule.

Has anyone in Ohio reported on the new Lead and Copper Rule rule? Did anyone seek a local perspective from their water departments? How will schools adopt sampling which is now covered by Federal standards? Why did Cleveland Water Department refuse to come to CLASH's Lead Safe Resource Fair this Saturday? Clevelanders have lots of questions about lead and water.


Lead and Copper Rule News

Gap #1: Property owner lead lines. The new lead and copper rule doesn't require property owners to replace lead service lines coming into the home, school, or child care center.

One of the questions at the CLASH Board meeting: will the new Lead and Copper Rule cover the cost of replacing property owners pipes?  Quick answer is NO. During the public comment phase of the rulemaking process, EPA decided it did not have the authority to order property owners to replace lead lines on private property. BUT...BUT...BUT individual Water departments may offer to pay for owner pipes. Here's an example:

Gap #2: What about schools and child care? The new law lowers the threshold for lead in water, but Ohio doesn't require regular testing of schools and child care centers.

Gap #3: Is there enough funding to meet the 10 year goal?

Gap #4: The new law requires a plan. How can citizens find out about the plan? Who enforces the plans?

Story of the week

October 02, 2024. Press Release. Philanthropy’s Role in Ending a Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight, "Today, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) is taking action against one of the world’s most urgent and overlooked public health emergencies—lead poisoning. Through the Eliminating Lead Poisoning Innovation Fund, we are investing $10 million to drive bold innovations that will transform how we detect and fight lead exposure, especially in neglected low- and middle-income communities. As RPA President and CEO Latanya Mapp emphasized, “Lead poisoning is a byproduct of environmental and economic injustice, and it affects far too many.” In collaboration with Partnership for a Lead-Free Future (PLF), an initiative by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), RPA will tap its global philanthropic network to establish an advisory board of lead-poisoning experts and frontline communities. Here is the stark reality: over half the children in these communities have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. Lead poisoning does not just harm; it devastates. It limits cognitive development, lowers IQ scores, and widens the already massive gaps in education and opportunity. This is a crisis of environmental injustice, killing 1.5 million people annually—more than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined—And yet, lead poisoning remains hidden in plain sight. Unlike many complex global issues, lead poisoning is surprisingly solvable with relatively low costs. In fact, Bangladesh eradicated lead in spices at a cost of roughly one penny per person. Atul Gawande, Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID, said it best, “We can end childhood lead poisoning. Innovation—for example, to make it easier to detect lead in the environment and in people’s bodies—can speed success dramatically.” Philanthropy is the engine that can make this innovation happen." (Emphasis added)


Around Cleveland

Cleveland City Council Health Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Lead Safe Certificate Program at 9AM Monday, October 14th. Last year's hearing was the "emperor's new clothes" moment for the program. The Plain Dealer called out: Cleveland’s faltering lead-safe effort needs a recharge - and radical rethinking: editorial

Around Ohio

Oct 2, 2024. WILO. Program at WOCAP seeks to prevent lead poisoning from affecting families "The West Ohio Community Action Partnership (WOCAP) is once again working to help families prevent lead poisoning from happening to them. Program at WOCAP seeks to prevent lead poisoning from affecting families. As part of their Lead Safe Program, they can provide services to homeowners or renters to get rid of lead in their homes. It's financed through a federal grant from the Ohio Department of Health. Lead comes from a variety of sources, but a big one is paint found in homes built before 1978. If you feel you may have lead-based paint in your home, contact WOCAP to start the process. 'During the process, we will actually educate the individuals about how to be safe in the home while they're waiting on the lead abatement. And once the lead abatement is scheduled, we will actually relocate the family, and we will cover the cost of food as well,' said Vance Cuthrell, housing program manager at West Ohio Community Action Partnership." Thanks ZakB for sharing


Around Us

Lead in Schools

A trove of academic studies


September 2024

Around CLASH

Around Cleveland

CLASH is hoping to encourage city departments to send representatives to a Lead Safe Resource Fair on October 26. 


Around Ohio




Around Us


Around Us: Conferences Galore


Lead in Consumer Products

Remembering Flint

Sept. 17, 2021. Washington Post Flint has replaced over 10,000 lead pipes. Earning back trust is proving harder. "While other communities await the funding and the political will to overhaul crumbling water infrastructure, this monumental undertaking has demonstrated that it is possible for cities to rid themselves of the lingering health risk running into their homes — that, years from now, there could be a day when parents in America no longer need to worry that the water in their taps might poison their children. But the moment has also highlighted another truth: The end of lead pipe replacements does not mean the end of the catastrophe for many in Flint."


When you are ready to move from Awareness to Action, CLASH is ready to put you to work as a donor or volunteer. Nobody has to do everything, everyone should do something....



Around CLASH

Around Ohio


Around Us

September 12, 2024, The Rochester Beacon. The ongoing fight against lead "Thanks to the advocacy and educational efforts CPLP started in the early 2000s, instances of lead poisoning have decreased across the area, as evidenced by childhood lead blood level tests. In 2014, a study found that rates of lead poisoning decreased 2.4 times faster in Monroe County compared to all other counties from 1997 to 2011. Even with those superior results, potential danger remains in Monroe County primarily due to lead-based paint used on the area’s old housing stock." Nice overview of the Lead Safety movement in Rochester NY.


Around Us -- Consumer Products

Around Cleveland

Lead Safe Advisory Board. 1:00 pm. Thursday, Sep 14, 2023. Virtual Meeting: https://cityclevelandoh.webex.com/cityclevelandoh/j.php?MTID=m5ac983291127d9ac32679b35fc14f74a  Meeting number: 2301 370 4296 Password: 8YBj2PwhXK2  Are these meetings all virtual to reduce citizen comments or questions? 


Around Ohio


Just Askin...


Around Us

Lead in School Water. 


August 2024

Around Cleveland

August 20, 2024. Beyond the buck: The high cost of affordable housing in Cleveland. "According to the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research’s 2024 State of Fair Housing Report, renters in Northeast Ohio are more likely to live in areas designated as High and Very High Environmental Hazard Exposure Areas (EHEAs). This suggests that renters are disproportionately exposed to greater environmental hazards and toxins. Additionally, many Cleveland homes are older, with 75 percent of the housing stock built before the federal ban on lead-based paint in 1978, increasing the likelihood that lead paint can still be present in homes. 'What’s that connection between affordable housing? It’s not affordable for someone to be exposed to lead,' emphasized Austin Cummings, senior research associate at the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research, an agency that promotes equal housing opportunities in Northeast Ohio. Living near or among environmental hazards and toxins can lead to a range of severe health issues like asthma, heart disease and cancer. Relocating to a safer environment may seem like the solution but is not a simple option explained Cummings, 'That’s not always the case for a lot of renters, especially if you are lower income, you don’t always have the ability to just choose freely.' " CLASH emphasis added.


Around Us


Around Us: School water fixtures

Check here for lots more information on Schools as Partners.



Around Cleveland

🙋Aug. 13, 2024. PD and Cleveland.com Link a deal on Browns stadium with commitment to children’s well being. "Shortly after reading Mayor Bibb’s Browns stadium proposal in The Plain Dealer, (”Mayor Justin Bibb goes public with $461M taxpayer-funded offer to renovate Browns stadium, asks Haslams to respond by Aug. 12,“ Aug. 1) I came upon Cleveland Councilwoman, Rebecca Mauer’s “From the Community” column (”Hope amid distrust -- Fighting for a lead-safe Cleveland: Rebecca Maurer,“ Aug. 2 ) regarding fighting for a lead-safe Cleveland. It struck me that maybe that these issues could be linked. It seems that once an agreement is reached on stadium/arena financing projects, there is always a dogged determination to expeditiously complete the job. That same kind of will and fortitude seem to be lacking in efforts to remove dangerous lead levels in Cleveland’s poorest neighborhoods. How about including a provision in any agreement that no game will be played in a new or renovated stadium until specific quantifiable substantive goals in removing lead contamination are met? This initiative might very well benefit from also being a public/private partnership. To provide such a linkage might attest to our community’s commitment to children’s well being as what truly makes us #1. Michael Tierney."



Around Cuyahoga County

Aug 14, 2024. Scene Cleveland. Bedrock Riverfront Project, Sherwin Williams R&D Center Get Millions for Brownfield Cleanup. "Seven development projects around Northeast Ohio, including Bedrock's $3.5 billion riverfront complex on the Cuyahoga, were awarded millions in state funds for brownfield remediation this week. Besides $10 million going to cleaning up the former parking lots south of Tower City Center." [ ..... ] "The dollars will be used to excavate sites of harmful pollutants, or, say, remove idling gas tanks, that would otherwise prevent construction from happening." A couple of items struck us as worth a little more excavation.

Around Ohio

August 11, 2024. Cincinnati Enquirer. How safe are tampons? A scientist explains lead exposure following study finding metals. Another great lead safety story from cincinnati.com writer Elizabeth Kim. She weaves together a University of California story with a classic study from the University of Cincinnati and her recent reporting on lead in the faucets of a City Health Department facility. Kudos (again) Ms. Kim!


Around Us

Nice overview of a community wide lead safety strategy.

South Bend Tribune. 5 takeaways from Tribune Talks discussion about lead poisoning in St. Joseph County. "The South Bend Tribune hosted Tribune Talk: Lead in the Soil on Aug. 14 featuring panelists in the lead field who make daily efforts to understand and help residents with lead issues in St. Joseph County. Panelists included Marya Lieberman, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame and an analytical chemist for the ND Lead Innovation Team, Briannah McCall, Assistant Director of the St. Environmental Health Unit from the St. Joseph County Department of Health, and Kathy Schuth, the executive director of the the Near Northwest Neighborhood and co-founder of the South Bend Lead Affinity Group. The trio discussed their personal experiences of helping residents affected by lead in the county."


Around Cleveland

Around Ohio

Around Us

Political leadership in Trenton NJ. Are you listening, Mayor Bibb? 

August 9, 2024. Trentonian. Guest Op-ed: Mayor Reed Gusciora talks about the urgent need to ‘Get the Lead Out’ of Trenton. "Our city’s older infrastructure and housing stock, combined with historical industrial activity, have left a lasting impact on our environment. Recent testing by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed what we feared—elevated lead levels in the soil across various areas of Trenton. This is not just an environmental concern but a pressing public health issue that demands immediate action." Wait...there's more....

"That is why we are taking a multi-faceted approach to address this crisis. In collaboration with the EPA, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and various non-profit organizations, we are undertaking a comprehensive effort to tackle lead contamination in our city. This includes testing children for lead exposure, inspecting and remediating housing, and cleaning up contaminated soil. To support these efforts and provide critical information to our community, we are hosting a Health Fair this Saturday, August 10, at Cadwalader Park. This event will not only offer a fun day out for families but also serve as an important opportunity to address the lead issue head-on. At the Health Fair, we will have mobile health units on-site to conduct lead testing for children. If lead is detected, we will offer counseling on the next steps and how to mitigate exposure. We will also provide information on identifying lead content in household items like toys, cookware, and dinnerware." CLASH emphasis added.


July 2024

Around CMHA

Around Cleveland

For more information visit: https://www.clashcle.org/resources


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Around Ohio

Jul 24, 2024. WKBN. Gov. DeWine signs bill combatting lead poisoning. "A new law was passed in Ohio to combat lead poisoning. Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 226 into law Wednesday to help with the cost of getting rid of lead service lines. It allows public water utilities regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to replace customer-owned lines. The law also creates a system for customers to be reimbursed if they have their lead lines replaced. Representative Monica Robb-Blasdel of Columbiana County supported the bill. She says no one should be subject to the harmful effects of lead because of financial burdens. According to an EPA report, Ohio has 745,061 lead service lines, which is eight percent of the nation’s total of 9.2 million."


Around Us (lead safety news you can use back at home)

Lead is everywhere we look: the need for Universal Child Testing

Nice Profiles: Maria Jose Talayero Schettino, Emily Benfer,and Marya Lieberman


Around Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority

1. OIG initiated the investigation because an earlier investigation found that HUD's enforcement of the Lead Safe Housing Rule was lax.

2. The Cleveland HUD office of Public Housing is in charge of enforcing the OIG recommendations. 

3. HUD Office of Inspector General says: "Anyone with information about environmental hazards and unsafe unit conditions in HUD housing or fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement related to HUD programs should contact the HUD OIG Hotline at 1-800-347-3735 or reporting online at https://www.hudoig.gov/hotline."


Other CLASH NEWS

Around Cleveland


Around Us (because sometimes we can learn from advocates around the country)


Around Cleveland


Around Ohio

Around  Us: Lead Pipe Replacement

Around Us -- Buffalo Citizens are Revolting

Around Us--Environmental Justice, pay now...or later

Around Us-Testing properties

Jul 9, 2024 Union Leader Lead-safe proof required for newly licensed child care centers and newly-renovated rental housing built before 1978. "Starting this month, newly licensed or newly leased child care centers and rental housing must provide evidence of lead paint safety under a new law aimed at preventing childhood lead exposure. The law, part of a state Senate bill enacted in 2018, requires newly-licensed child care centers and landlords of newly renovated rental housing, in structures built before 1978, to get a lead-safe certificate issued by a licensed New Hampshire risk assessor. The rule, effective July 1, does not require preexisting rental properties, owner-occupied housing, or previously licensed child care facilities to obtain the certificate." 🤷 Hey Ohio Department of Health: Certifying child care centers to be lead safe is a good idea. You should try it.


About Us--Immigrant households

Around Cleveland

Jul 5, 2024. Cleveland Scene. Cleveland to Close McCafferty Health Center in Ohio City, Redevelop Site for Affordable Housing. "The city is looking for another location for the clinic in the neighborhood." CLASH says: Under Margolius' leadership, the Cleveland Department of Public Health continues to drift away from providing direct services to low income, uninsured families. 

Around Ohio

1. Under the Lead Safe Housing Rule, the Housing Authority is responsible to contact families living adjacent to units where a child was found to have an elevated blood level and inspect their units for lead hazards.

2. Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority which "fired their contractor CGI Federal" is a collaborator with CGI Federal in a non-profit HUD contractor called Assisted Housing Services Corporation (AHSC) which is responsible for monitoring a different HUD program: Project Based Rental Assistance for Ohio and DC. 

3. Has anyone confirmed that the Columbus Health Department is following up on these cases? A simple yes or no would be satisfactory so as to not disclose medical information.

4. Will HUD audit the Assisted Housing Services Corporation to see if AHSC is in compliance with the HUD Lead Safe Housing Rule?


Around Us

Are you ready to speak out, Ohio MDs?

June 2024

CLASH News

Special thanks to our local site sponsors FoodStrong/Coit Road Farmers Market, Kentucky Garden, God's Vision Foundation and Concerned Citizens Community Council. More info at https://www.clashcle.org/home/learn-more-about-clash/soilshop-events-in-cleveland You can help share this information to your friends, neighbors, members and clients. 


Around Cleveland


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Around Ohio

Massillon Independent via Canton Repository. 1 million-gallon water tower in Massillon getting a facelift. "Aqua Ohio is putting about $600,000 of work into its water tower on Massillon's southwest side. An Aqua Ohio water tower used to help supply drinking water to west side residents is in the midst of six-figure facelift. A $600,000 effort is ongoing to upgrade the tower, which sits on property in the 1200 block of Kenyon Ave. SW, aiming to upgrade the inside and outside of the structure. It holds 1 million gallons of water. Work involves water draining, sandblasting, minor repairs and repainting sections of the tower, according to the company. The upgrades should take a few weeks." Questions: has anyone checked to see if the contractors will be releasing lead into the water or the surrounding community? Does anyone remember last week's story about the water tower in North Carolina?