Mark Snyder wrote:
> I would encourage people who would like to know more about > the dangers of lead paint in homes to check out this fact > sheet from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. > http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5054.html > Those who think the only concern is about paint chips are in for an > eye-opener this morning. Sure, let's just spread more fear and irrationality. Attempting to solve societal problems by throwing money away is not effective government or effective taxation. Please note that the report cited above says, "In communities where the houses are old and deteriorating..." "Deteriorating" being the key word. If lead paint is flaking or chalking then I agree that it is a bad thing, but if it is firm and stable there really is no problem, unless some fool comes along and starts dry sanding it. As I understand it, it unlikely that any child in Minneapolis (who is not eating paint chips) will have been exposed to more lead than I was growing up in L.A. in the 1950s. Ok, so I could be a lot smarter, but I'm doing ok (if being qualified to join Mensa means anything). > As far as costs, which is more cost-prohibitive - removing lead hazards from > homes or paying for the special education programs, increased health care > needs and in many cases, incarceration of adults who were exposed to lead as > children? Remember yesterday's post from WizardMarks mentioning a study at > one prison that showed 50% of inmates showed evidence of childhood lead > poisoning. "Correlation does not imply causation!" Do you have evidence that when matched for SES that %50 of unincarcerated adults do not show exposure to lead as children? > The worst part is we don't even really know how bad the problem is. The > Minnesota Department of Health screening guidelines recommend that all > children under age six receive blood lead testing. It is estimated that > only about a third of those children in Minneapolis have actually been > tested. We also don't know how bad the problem of space alien infiltration is, but do we really need to worry about it? If you really want to worry about household hazards, then worry about the lack of air circulation in new homes and the type of sealants and materials used in them. There are many materials that have not been tested and are likely to show up as health hazards twenty years from now. Do you want to provide some really useful information? Report the percentage of the 33% of children in tested Minneapolis that actually have dangerous levels of lead in their blood (33% is a huge sample). Next report the follow up studies that determined exactly what the source of this contamination was in their environments. It may turn out to have nothing to do with lead paint, and instead could be problems with their drinking water (bad soldering in copper pipes can also cause lead poisoning and I believe it is still used in new housing). I live in a house build in 1883. I can say with a high degree of certainty that there is lead paint in my house. I can say with the same degree of certainty that removing all of the lead paint would cost more than the value of the house. I have no intention of tearing down what is a wonderful example of Victorian architecture. I have had my blood tested while I was doing restoration. My wife was tested during both of her pregnancies. My children are both tested regularly and none of us has shown any evidence of elevated levels of lead. As a side note, for those of us really paranoid parents, as I understand it low levels of lead can be treated with iron supplements. Paranoid parent might also want to buy HEPA vacuums. So before scaring everyone to death and causing a political rush to save Minneapolis from lead paint, please do a rational analysis of the problem. Michael Atherton Prospect Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
