Racism, Crime And Environmental Hazards Linked To Lead Poisoning

By Bankole ThompsonSpecial to the NNPA from the Michigan Citizen DETROIT (NNPA) – Detroit is ranked fourth in the nation for lead poisoning and as many as 3,000 children in the city could be diagnosed with lead this year. This striking revelation is contained in a new documentary on lead poisoning in Detroit. “Toxic City: Lead and the Battle for Environmental Justice” is the story of some Detroit families who have contracted lead poison through renting houses with lead. “This documentary shows how lead disproportionately affects the poor,” said Tony Motley, writer and producer of the one-hour documentary. Motley, who produces both the American Black Journal and Am I Right shows on WTVS (Detroit Public Television PBS-affiliate), said the only way to raise consciousness on the issue is through a documentary. “No one advocates for the poor,” Motley said. “This is one of the challenges in urban cities we want to emphasize.” Terry Ward, a Detroit parent explains in the documentary how her four-year-old son Tyler had a seizure due to lead. “His lips and nose literally were turning to the opposite side of his face,” Ward said. “By the time we got to the doctors they said he needs to be put on machine. The doctors said he was lead poisoned.” According to Motley, Tyler, who is still in diapers, was poisoned by lead paint in the house they were renting. Another single parent, Joanna Brown found out that five out of her seven kids have been poisoned by lead. Brown, who has moved more than 20 times in seven years in search of decent housing, said it is a troubling nightmare for her. “The houses were not fixed properly,” Brown said. She said many times she got evicted by landlords who feared that lead inspectors might come to check the house. “You can’t have discount rent for substandard housing,” said Amru Meah, Detroit’s building and safety department director. “That’s what state law requires. If you don’t want to do that, don’t rent a property in Detroit.” Meah said city code bars landlords from providing “distressed properties,” to tenants and those looking to rent. “Children are lead poisoned because they live near facilities that contract lead poisoning,” said Donele Wilkins, head of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. Between 1998 and 2000 about 400 pounds of lead dust were found in Detroit according to the documentary. Wilkins said that is because 87 percent of facilities in Michigan that dispose lead and present an environmental threat to the community are in Detroit. One of such example highlighted in Motley’s documentary is the Greater Detroit Recovery Center located on I-75 and Russell. A waste and energy incinerator, the recovery center has impacted the lives of the neighborhood where it is located, especially the children. “Children who live near those facilities have the highest lead poison in Michigan,” Wilkins said. “This is no accident. That’s a pattern that’s been proven in this country.” Wilkins said it is plain racism and that the back and front yards of 400 houses in Detroit need to be removed because of soil contamination. “Race is the number one factor for locating these facilities,” Wilkins said. “Often times we are told we have to host these facilities because we need jobs. But we don’t end up getting the jobs. It’s racism.” Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University, makes a case in the documentary of a link between lead and crime. Denno said there is a strong link between lead toxicity and the likelihood of criminal activity. In her studies, conducted in the 1970s and in 1990 Denno, explored some 3,000 factors for links to criminal behavior in 1000 children who were followed from birth to age 22. The study found that the best predictor (when the children are 7 years old) for aggressive behavior in school, juvenile delinquency, and eventual criminal violence is the degree of lead poisoning. The second predictor in the study was anemia, which is also associated with toxins from the environment. “This was a longitudinal study,” Denno said adding that most criminal and violent behavior can be prevented because they have environmental origins, which can be eliminated. Interestingly, Ryan Correctional facility in Detroit was built on contaminated soil, Wilkins said. African-Americans make up about 14 percent of the state population and 70 percent of those who are incarcerated. “There is a lot of data that showed violent prisoners have been lead poisoned,” Wilkins said. Dr. Jamie Hall of the city’s health department said the damaging effects of lead on children are far too dangerous to underestimate. It even affects their intellectual ability. “For every ten points of lead that goes up in the body, the IQ of a child can go down three points,” Hall said. Lynn Lewis of the University of Detroit sociology department calls the effects of lead poison “neurological issues.” “It affects the extent to which your child can read, their level of confidence and developmental issues,” Lewis said. How can the city combat such a grave issue? “We need political activism,” to change policies, Lewis said. But for now, Detroit receives federal dollars to clean houses that have lead. Qualified applicants must be low-income with children or a pregnant woman living in the house. Also the Detroit Lead busters association, made up of a group of young people funded by the city are educating landlords and helping inform tenants how to be proactive. “We go from house to house to teach people how to contain this poison,” said Lamont Cox, a member of the group. To combat this “invisible and odorless,” battle, it has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, says Jane Warren of the Detroit Planning and Housing Services Department. The Centers for Disease Control reported that about 300,000 children are affected nationally and 22,000 of those are in Michigan. The state’s surgeon general said over a million houses is contaminated with lead. A new state law bars landlords from knowingly renting lead-contaminated properties to tenants. State Senator Hansen Clarke said landlords found guilty could spend up to ninety days in jail and pay a fine of about $10,000.00. Toxic City: Lead and the Battle for Environmental Justice will air Sunday July 31, 2005 at 2:00 PM on Detroit Public Television. The film will also be carried nationwide this summer via cable on the Black Family Channel. This film is funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.