Lead: a hidden danger lurking inside many local homes

PITTSBURGH — Lead can be found everywhere: in the soil, the water and in our homes it’s in the paint, pipes and plumbing.

For kids, lead exposure can be dangerous. Even low levels in a child’s blood can contribute to behavior and learning problems.

Leah Flaherty is a mom of 3 who lives in an older home.

“One of the first things that doctors ask you at your first pediatrician appointment is ‘When are you going to be tested for lead?” she told us.

That’s because doctors say lead exposure is one of the most common preventable poisonings in kids.

“So by screening these kids when they’re young, 9 months and 2 years of age, we could prevent developmental delay from lead exposure in that population,” said Dr. Joseph Aracri, System Chair of Pediatrics for AHN

Allegheny County health officials were concerned not all kids were getting tested for exposure to lead. So, since 2018 it has been a requirement that all kids in the county get tested twice for it: once at 9 to 12 months, and again when they’re 2.

“That’s when the brain is developing the most,” said Dr. Aracri. “So you want to catch the lead exposure that’s happening at that age, again to prevent cognitive delay later on.”

Data from the Allegheny County Health Department shows after universal testing was implemented in 2018, 6,000 more kids were tested than the year before. In 2018, 481 kids had elevated lead levels in their blood -- 24 more than the previous year when there wasn’t a mandate.

“It let us know that there’s always more to do. There’s always more outreach to do to assure that all kids are tested,” said Luann Brink, Chief Epidemiologist for Allegheny County Health Department, PhD. “They do come from everywhere. There are definite risks that increase a child’s probability of having a higher lead level: those include living in an older home, primarily.”

The first thing one mom told us she thinks of when she hears of lead poising is paint chips.

And she’s right: paint in old homes is one of the biggest culprits of lead exposure. Given the abundant aging infrastructure in Allegheny County, that makes kids in this area more vulnerable to it.

This map on the Allegheny County Health Department’s website shows where a lot of the older homes are and where kids have elevated lead levels in their blood. The more older homes seems to correspond with more kids with elevated levels.

The areas with some of the highest numbers are in the Mon Valley, one of the areas that the county is targeting for more outreach to let parents know their kids need a lead test.

“To understand what some of these barriers are: if it’s the trip across town for the mom who already has a two: a toddler, a preschooler and an infant who needs to be tested,” said Dr. Brink.

Tests are done at a pediatrician’s office, which then sends the result to the Allegheny County Health Department. If a child’s lead level is high, the family is given the opportunity to get a lead risk assessment of their home: which means testing paint, soil, water and even toys in the home.

Information about testing can be found here: https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Programs/Special-Initiatives/Lead/Testing.aspx

Allegheny County Economic Development runs a program called Lead Safe Homes, which will do thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs in a qualifying home, for free, if they find lead in the paint, windows or doors.

“We need to take that seriously and try and get rid of the lead as much as we can so that this doesn’t stay an issue forever-that there’s an end in sight. Jennifer Saks-Program Supervisor, Allegheny Lead Safe Homes

Information about qualifying for Lead Safe Homes can be found here: https://www.alleghenycounty.us/economic-development/residents/lead-safe-homes-program.aspx

But Dr. Brink points out it’s not just the people who live in older homes that have to worry about lead:

“Just because you live in a house that was built in 2010 doesn’t mean that maybe the daycare center or the soil outside it hasn’t been contaminated long ago or perhaps grandma’s house or something.”

Like Marie Scftas, a grandmother who lives in an older home and watches her grandson 3 days a week. She got her pipes tested before he started coming there.

“I think it’s an excellent idea. Something we need to do, to correct what we did wrong before. It’s important for the health of our children,” said Scftas.

Which is why Allegheny County has a goal of getting all kids tested for lead before they turn 6 or go into kindergarten.

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