CHILDREN'S HEALTH Officials try to get a handle on lead poisonings in children

There are ongoing efforts to prevent lead poisoning.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Local officials agree lead is bad for kids. But they have yet to agree how to regulate lead in homes and how to enforce the rules they make.
People from various agencies, as well as the public, continue to disagree over how to define the environmental disease, said city Health Commissioner Neil Altman. To address the varying opinions and to bring officials and others together on the issue, health-care workers and other officials have been meeting with a Cleveland-based mediator, Altman noted.
Altman said at Monday's Youngstown City Health District meeting that dialogue between the mediator and representatives from several local agencies is continuing. Last year, Ken Kovach, a Cleveland city councilman and facilitator, was hired to help various agencies and community groups better understand and agree on how to prevent lead poisoning in children, Altman noted.
They include the Mahoning County Landlords' Association, health officials, politicians and members of the Children and Family First Council.
Several years ago, the Youngstown City Health District passed a regulation, similar to a city ordinance, giving it the authority to enforce findings issued by home inspectors. If an inspector found lead inside an apartment or home, the district could order the homeowner or landlord to fix the problem before selling or renting the dwelling, Altman noted.
Altman said he's seen an increase in lead poisoning in Youngstown over the years. An effective tool toward addressing the problem is to clear up various misunderstandings, he added.
& quot;Some landlords think we're asking them to [completely gut or repair] the house, & quot; Altman said. & quot;We're just asking them to make it safe to prevent poisoning in kids. Just fix the problems outlined by the county inspector. & quot;
Altman said that people living in homes built before 1978, the year the federal government banned lead, could be at risk because lead-based paint may have been used inside or outside the residence. Altman added he wanted to dispel the misconception that all cases of lead poisoning occur in city limits.
& quot;It could happen anywhere, not just Youngstown. Lead poisoning is a developing illness, & quot; he stressed.
Joseph Diorio, director and coordinator of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program & amp; Public Health Readiness program, said lead poisoning in children has been a & quot;steady problem & quot; over the past 14 years. Diorio noted that a blood-lead test is available to detect the toxin, and that a medical provider can give the test.
In recent years, the Ohio Department of Health identified high-risk locations for lead poisoning in children ages 6 months to 6 years old. The information was based on factors such as the child's age, whether the person is on Medicaid, high poverty and urbanized areas and the age of the home. Dwellings built before 1950 were especially high risk, Diorio said.
Kovach is scheduled to reveal an action plan on lead poisoning to members of the Landlords Association, officials from all three county health districts, the Youngstown Board of Education, Jobs and Family Services and others. The meeting is set for 3 p.m. Thursday at the McGuffey Centre, 1649 Jacobs Road, on Youngstown's East Side.