CLEVELAND — A data brief from Cleveland’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) shows fairly consistent decreases in the percentage of children (age 1-5) with elevated blood lead levels from 2005 through 2019.
But, from 2019 to 2023, that’s not been the case.
Mayor Justin Bibb announced that the city is going to be focusing "resources on risk assessment, abatement and expedited removal of lead hazards in order to protect Cleveland’s children from lead poisoning.”
“The data in this report from CDPH is clear,” Bibb said in a news release. “The percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels has not changed since 2019, when we began to focus on lead safe certification. It’s time for us to urgently reevaluate this program with a focus on preventing poisonings.”
According to the release states that there were 11 cases in which places were given a Lead-Safe Certificate and later were given a Lead Hazard Control Order due to lead poisoning.
The Department of Building and Housing is going to “target properties in identified hot spots that have obvious lead hazards, such as peeling paint.”
“The latest reports from the health department highlight the need to transition from interim controls to more permanent and reliable solutions to keep kids safe from the hazards of lead at home,” said Sally Martin O’Toole, Cleveland's director of Building and Housing, in the release. “This will be an iterative process, and my team will work closely with landlords to meet them where they are, clarify what is required and work with them on a plan to ensure their units are truly lead safe. We will also engage our partners who are currently working in the inspection and lead abatement space to ensure we are all aligned and working together.”
The CDPH data also made comparisons to other cities around Cleveland, including Toledo, Detroit, Akron and Cincinnati. They concluded that Cleveland has the most children with high blood lead levels.
The city is working on developing a data driven approach alongside the city council and the Lead Safe Coalition on this issue, according to the mayor’s announcement. This may lead to some changes to the lead safe ordinance.
Abatement efforts through the Department of Community Development are also being expanded. That’s in addition to the program that replaces windows and doors, which “create lead dust through regular use and are a common cause of poisonings.”
“Cleveland saw a dramatic reduction in lead poisoning from 2005 to 2018 but every year, for the last five years, 1,500 kids in Cleveland are still being poisoned,” said Cleveland Director of Public Health Dr. Dave Margolius. “For us to make this a problem of the past, we have to work together with our partners to dedicate the resources to get the lead out once and for all.”
The data from CDPH also found that there were fewer children age 1-5 being tested in recent years. It is worth noting that there was also a decline in the estimated population of this age range during these years as well.
The data found that neighborhoods on the city's east side had lower testing rates than the west side in 2023.
They also found that certain neighborhoods have higher rates than others.
Here's the neighborhoods with the highest rates.
West Side
- Clark Fulton
- Stockyards
- West Boulevard
- Cudell
- Brooklyn Center
East Side
- Goodrich-Kirtland Park
- Glenville
- Saint Clair-Superior
- Collinwood-Nottingham
- Broadway Slavic
- Union-Miles
- Mount Pleasant
- Buckeye-Shaker Square
Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer issued a statement on the data and advertised a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 14 focused on lead safety.
“It is our moral obligation as a city to protect our kids from lead poisoning,” Maurer said in a statement. “We must work together to realize the dream of the 2019 lead-safe housing law.”
