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Lead problem passes to new homeowner
YOUNGSTOWN — City and Mahoning County health officials say some innovative ways of dealing with owners of property identified as lead-poisoning hazards are paying dividends.
One of the most unusual solutions devised by Atty. Angela J. Mikulka, Youngstown special prosecutor for lead-poisoning cases, led to the property owner’s turning over the deed to the property to its longtime tenant.
The property, at 1024 Parkwood Ave., was owned by a rental-and-leasing company. Bonnie Rivers, the tenant-turned-homeowner, now faces the same problem as did the previous owners: abating the lead hazard.
The hope, said Joseph Diorio, director of lead-poisoning prevention for the Mahoning County District Board of Health, is that the tenant will use the money formerly allotted for rent to deal with the lead hazard. Also, perhaps she will be eligible for financial assistance, he said.
Originally everybody wanted to put offending property owners in jail, Altman said.
“Mikulka investigated the civil-penalties route, and receivership is what she came up with. I’m very happy with this,” said Neil Altman, Youngstown health commissioner.
Diorio said that over the last couple of years, some 40 owners of properties identified as lead hazards either have been or are being processed through the courts by Mikulka.
For example, he said the owner of three properties in Youngstown is under orders from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to make the homes lead-free.
The Youngstown District Board of Health has an agreement with the county health board, under which the county can inspect houses in the city for lead hazards, Altman said.
The county health board, which has received grants from the Ohio Department of Health to deal with the problem, issues written orders to property owners to abate the lead hazard, using regulations adopted by the city board of health, he said.
Over the last couple of years, five properties with lead hazards have been demolished by their owners, and four properties were made lead-safe by their owners and passed re-inspection, Diorio said.
Lead-hazard inspections are triggered when a child is found to have lead poisoning via a blood test. The test is administered to children from a designated high-risk area when they go for any type of physician care.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined concentrations of lead above 10 micrograms per deciliter have been associated with developmental problems, said Altman. Any blood lead level above zero can cause developmental problems.
In Ohio, Diorio said, the lead hazard must be abated by a licensed contractor. There are safe ways to control lead, called interim controls, that are not total abatement, Altman said.
alcorn@vindy.com