Youngstown's lead problem could get an airing in court

Before The Vindicator revealed in 1998 the extent to which Youngstown's inner city children were being poisoned by lead-based paint, the issue was hardly a blip on the public radar screen.
But once the series of stories illustrated how homes clad in lead-based paints that were peeling or chipping from the walls were ticking time bombs, federal officials decided to take a closer look. And that, in turn, spurred Youngstown and Mahoning County governments to act.
Until then, only a handful of government bureaucrats, led by Youngstown Health Commissioner Neil Altman and Gary Singer, the now retired director of the lead-abatement program, viewed the issue with any sense of urgency.
Since that time, however, steps have been taken to deal with this health threat: Laws pertaining to property maintenance have been strengthened; qualified individuals lead the countywide and city's abatement programs; structures that pose the greatest danger have been identified; and, the names of most of the property owners are known to local officials.
Indeed, as The Vindicator stories revealed, some of the worst offenders of the lead laws were suburbanites.
And there have been prosecutions -- albeit not as many as we would like.
Most of the county's lead-control program is in Youngstown, where the old housing stock, especially in the inner city, poses the greatest danger because of lead-based paint. The city also has a program through its Community Development Agency.
In the past decade or so, 2,500 children in Youngstown have been diagnosed with lead poisoning and 400 homes identified as having lead-based paints peeling or chipping from the walls.
Learning disability
The link between children who have been poisoned and their inability to learn is well documented. At least one Youngstown school board member, Lock Beachum, is of the opinion that such poisoning could be a contributing factor to the system's academic failing.
The city estimates that millions of dollars have been spent on lead abatement, and now, the administration of Mayor Jay Williams is trying to recover that money -- from the manufacturers, processors and marketers of lead-based paint.
A lawsuit has been filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court seeking more than 25,000 from a list of defendants, including Sherwin-Williams Co. of Cleveland and E.I. DuPont DeNemours & amp; Co. of Wilmington, Del.
There have been similar lawsuits in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Wayne, N.J., and Providence, R.I. Youngstown will not have to spend any of its own money because lawyers representing various municipalities are working on a contingency fee basis.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state alleging that 10 companies continued to market led paint long after they knew it was toxic.
In response, the companies contend that they were operating within the law when the lead-based paint was manufactured, and that rather than suing them, municipalities should focus on landlords who don't maintain their properties.
Regardless of the merits of the lawsuits filed by Youngstown and other municipalities, the issue of holding landlords responsible for putting children in harm's way must remain a top priority.
The city has a contract with Atty. Angela Mikulka to sue owners of rental property who are not in compliance with lead laws. So far, she has gone after nine offenders. One of the cases was resolved when the owner demolished the house and a garage. The other eight are pending, with some of the landlords taking steps to comply.
Mikulka is right when she says that lead-safe properties is the ultimate goal, which is why she prefers the civil lawsuit route.
However, criminal action must remain an option. Landlords who continue to ignore demands that they bring their properties up to code should be punished with fines and even jail time.
Children's lives are at risk.