More Syracuse children may be considered to have elevated lead levels under New York state regulations taking effect next week.

The regulations lower the standard for elevated lead levels in children’s blood from 10 to 5 micrograms per deciliter. The policy shift will require the county to inspect the house of any child whose blood lead level is above that threshold. 

The stricter standard will greatly increase the amount of inspections conducted in the community, said Debra Lewis, program coordinator of the Onondaga County Health Department’s lead poisoning prevention program. Under the new law, all children with a blood lead level above the lower threshold are required to receive the exact same level of care, she said. 

“We will be responsible for a larger pool of children for all required services instead of restricting the most intensive services to children at the highest level,” Lewis said.

There is no “normal” level for lead in blood, said Howard Weinberger, a pediatrician at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Weinberger is also the medical director at the state’s lead poisoning prevention center for central and Eastern New York. 

“Now we know even levels as low as five affect some children with their learning, with their executive skills, with a whole variety of subtle changes,” Weinberger said. 

The federal government banned consumer use of paints containing lead in 1978. About 91% of homes in Syracuse were built prior to 1980, according to Syracuse.com. When old homes with lead paint deteriorate, the paint peels and chips, Weinberger said. Young children can become exposed to lead if they ingest the paint chips, which taste sweet. 

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

Long-term studies have revealed that children with elevated lead levels have lower IQs and perform poorly in school compared to their peers, Weinberger said. Every child is different, and some are seemingly unaffected by their elevated blood lead levels.

When Weinberger began his pediatric career in 1964, there were hundreds of children who needed treatment for lead exposure, with many hospitalized. Now, more children are being exposed to lead, but fewer children are becoming severely sick, he said. 

Though lead is a “universal toxin” that can affect anyone, Weinberger said lead is a social problem. Most children exposed to lead come from low-income homes, he said. 

In the city’s Southside neighborhood, about 46% of residents live below the poverty level, according to Syracuse.com. The area surrounding the Southside neighborhood’s Beauchamp Branch Library has one of the highest rates of lead poisoning.

Jaime Howley is the co-chair of the Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today Southside Housing Taskforce, the Southside sector of an organization aiming to improve the quality of life of Syracuse residents. The lowered threshold was “wonderful,” she said. 

“Every time we decrease (the threshold), we save a child, we save their future, what they will be able to achieve,” she said. 

The lead-blood threshold should be lowered to be as close to zero as possible, Howley said. 

Lowering the lead-blood threshold, while necessary, will increase the caseload of individuals affected by lead and present a burden on the county health department, said Common Councilor Joe Driscoll, of the 5th district.

“We’ve struggled to find resources to deal with lead already, it’s an incredibly complicated issue,” Driscoll said. “It’s a question as to how do we cope now that the scope of the problem is increasing so dramatically.”

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

Cuomo’s budget allocates $28.6 million statewide to address childhood lead paint poisoning and prevention. The budget includes a provision authorizing code enforcement agencies to enforce lead paint hazard control. Lead paint is currently not considered a code violation in Syracuse. 

The city has struggled to keep up with the code inspections it’s supposed to conduct, Driscoll said. Under the new legislation, code inspectors will now have to spend time using dust wipes to test homes for lead paint, resulting in fewer properties inspected in an afternoon, he said. 

Onondaga County is preparing to respond to potential burdens posed by the law, Lewis said. While questions regarding additional staffing remain, the county’s state regional office has supported efforts to determine efficient ways to follow policies and procedures, she said. 

Howley said that resources will have to be built up to handle the challenges and burdens the new regulations present.  

“The facts are hard and cold, just like lead,” she said. “And so we have to be stronger than lead, heavier than lead, more durable than lead.”

Published on September 22, 2019 at 11:15 pm

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu