Lower-Income Neighborhoods of Cincinnati Suffering From Lead Exposure

Since the 1970s, many cities have been making great initiatives to remove lead from their surrounding environment, some have been successful. In cities such as Cincinnati, this silent killer is still seemingly everywhere. Hundreds of local children are now facing the repercussions of this deadly toxin on a yearly basis.

In 2019, 321 local children were identified by the Cincinnati Health Department with elevated levels of lead in their blood. When older infrastructure is left to sit, these buildings then begin to deteriorate. This results in flakes of lead paint chips in the surrounding soil of these homes. Typically, this happens in lower-income communities where governmental housing is predominant. This has caused people in lower-income communities to fall victim to lead poisoning. Lead isn't only found in paint chips in the soil surrounding older homes, it is even in the water we drink.

The city of Cincinnati has a roughly estimated 40,000 lead service lines in its water system that are still in operation today, says the Greater Cincinnati Water Works. Cheviot, Evanston, East Price Hill, Walnut Hills, and Northside are some of the neighborhoods in Cincinnati with the highest percentage of these operating lead lines. Dr. Amit Bhattacharya, an Environmental and Public Health professor, and researcher at the University of Cincinnati, conducted a study that started in 1979 and ended in 2020. This study, The Cincinnati Lead study or CLS, goes into the impacts of low to moderate lead exposure on children's health and has a special emphasis on the effects on the nervous system. The subjects they recruited for this study are from urban, inner-city areas of Cincinnati where historically high levels of lead poisoning had been reported. The effects of lead poisoning can result in a lifetime of serious health issues that can sometimes be fatal. More severe cases of lead poisoning are typically seen in children under the age of 6 and pregnant women, says Hamilton County Public Health. As of October 28, 2021, by the CDC guidelines, it states that 3.5 micrograms per deciliter is the value to identify children with elevated levels of lead in their system. It was previously 5 micrograms per deciliter. This new definition of lead poisoning in young children is expected to double the number of children with dangerous levels of toxic lead in their blood, going from about 200,000 in the US to an estimated 500,000. Although no levels are considered safe levels, “This can seriously be detrimental to their health and their brain function for decades,” says Bhattacharya. A lot of the times the effects that lead exposure can be unknown, “Unfortunately, the lead exposure is a very complex problem.” These young children can unknowingly expose themselves to lead poisoning by simply playing outside and putting their dirt-covered hands in their mouths.

This act can potentially impact their health for the rest of their lives. According to the CDC, the more commonly known effects of lead poisoning in children can be attention hyper deficit disorder or ADHD as well as a low IQ. It can also cause severe nervous system issues, seizures, hearing loss, abdominal pain, and speech problems. For pregnant women who have had lead exposure, it can cause the baby to be born prematurely and have stunted growth. In the worst case, the pregnant woman with these elevated levels of lead can miscarry or have a stillborn. There are no cures for lead poisoning once it has already happened. The only possible resolution to halt lead exposure from happening is to eliminate lead from the surrounding environment.

From the neighborhoods in Cincinnati with the highest percentage of lead pipes still in use, the US Census data states that all those neighborhoods- Cheviot, Evanston, East Price Hill, Walnut Hills, and Northside- fall below the median household gross annual income of Ohio, which is an approximate $43,440 for a household of three. Based on this data, the pattern shows that the lead service lines still in use are in predominantly lower-income communities. The reason for this? Dr. Bhattacharya says, “Unfortunately, money... It will require comprehensive monitoring of exposure levels among communities living in older homes from the pre-1970s and implementing the mitigating process will require a lot of funds that individuals just don’t have.” Also, out of the neighborhoods listed, Cheviot, Evanston, East Price Hill, Walnut Hills, and Evanston consist of over 40% of renters. So, for renters or people who live in governmental housing, it is above them. The issue of lead exposure will require initiative from landlords or the government for the exploitation of the lower class’s environment and health to subside.

More recently, there have been recent progressive efforts to combat the issue of lead exposure in our local environment, but not strenuous effort. Ohio has recently expanded its efforts in 2019 to remove this hazardous metal from homes by using Medicaid dollars to help abate lead in homes. But this does not combat the issue of the 40,000 lead pipes still in use in our water system. The state of Ohio has also recently set aside $5 million dollars to fund the effort. In the past, many property owners did not use government programs to improve the quality of their water system or homes. The new budget will now allow the requirement that property owners pay toward the total cost of lead abatement to be removed. Rubin states, “Lead- Poisoning is not caused by, nor dependent on race, heritage, level of education, economic status or poor housekeeping, it is an equal opportunity poisoning. The only true solution to childhood lead poisoning is removing children and their families from the toxic environment.”