lead paint

Cleveland will announce a goal on Tuesday to bring down the rate of childhood lead poisoning and make the city “lead safe” by 2028, Council President Kevin Kelley said in an interview Monday afternoon. By 2028, Kelley said, the city aims for no children to register blood-lead levels above five micrograms per deciliter, which experts have considered a threshold for poisoning. He called the 10-year goal “aggressive but reasonable,” saying that the specific details of the city’s plan are still being worked out.

Ten years after Ohio blocked lawsuits against lead paint manufacturers, local governments in California have successfully sued paint companies. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to lawsuits against the paint companies ConAgra and Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams, letting stand a $400 million ruling for California cities and counties to cover the cost of lead paint abatement.

In its first year, Cleveland’s Rental Inspection Unit has completed 763 random tests for lead dust. Out of those inspections, the city issued 34 violations, with less than half of those properties now cleared of their lead hazard. Department of Building and Housing Director Ayonna Blue Donald testified before city council’s Development, Planning, and Sustainability Committee Tuesday, saying she wants three additional properties cleared by the end of the year. 11 appeals were filed and Donald said the remaining five violations are heading toward prosecution.

In October of this year, the city of Cleveland plans to start inspecting rental properties for lead paint hazards, according to the mayor’s office. Cuyahoga County had the highest lead poisoning rate in Ohio in 2015. Two other mid-sized cities in the Great Lakes region could help show Cleveland the way. Rochester, New York, focused its efforts in places where children were most at risk. Toledo is starting to do the same.

Cleaning up lead paint from contaminated homes takes a lot of money. By one estimate from the Cleveland Foundation, it could cost $50 million to make some of the city’s most distressed neighborhoods safe from the toxin. So who’s going to pay for that? Cuyahoga County and philanthropic leaders think private investors might be swayed to put up the cash. This financial model is called “pay for success,” and it’s becoming more popular with local governments.

The Erie County Health Department says results from a spring testing program are showing elevated lead levels in the blood of far more local children than…

Outside an old two-story duplex on the city’s eastside, Brian Hina begins a routine residential inspection for lead paint. Hina’s company specializes in…