John Freidah

Child Lead Poisoning

According to a Rhode Island Department of Health official, lead poisoning represents the greatest health risk to the children of our state. Children, who are most commonly poisoned by ingesting lead-paint dust or chips, can suffer compromised brain development and decrease cognitive ability. The result can be learning disabilities, antisocial behaviors, reduced hearing and speech and language problems. In severe cases lead can damage kidneys, trigger high blood pressure and even induce comas, convulsions and in rare cases death. The threat is present throughout the Northeast in older housing stock and neglected properties. The financial and emotional costs penetrate every sector of society. The crisis burdens families, landlords, taxpayers and the educational, legal and medical systems. Nearly a third of Providence's children have elevated blood lead levels, a rate eight times the national average. As a result, Rhode Island has become the first state to sue the makers of lead paint, seeking millions to pay for removing the paint from homes and caring for poisoned children. This story looks at the children, families and lives of those affected by the lead crisis.

Maurianna Jordan, 1, and a sibling are hospitalized for lead poisoning, and receive intravenous medication to reduce their elevated blood lead level. Maurianna’s mother was also lead poisoned as a child.
   
Burnadette Jordan visits her children, Shonnell, 3, left, and Maurianna, 1, rear, at Hasbro Children's Hospital where they are treated for lead poisoning. Both children receive intravenous medication for three days to reduce their elevated blood lead levels, which have been linked to mental impairment in young children. Jordan was also lead poisoned as a child and treated by the same physician as her children.
   
Mothers of lead poisoned children, one who watches from a window, protest outside a triple-decker in Providence, RI where multiple children have been lead poisoned. Statistics show that a small number of rental properties represent a disproportionately high number of poisoning.
     
  
A rare April snow falls as pallbearers transport the body of Sunday Abek, 2, following a service in Manchester, NH. The young girl died of lead poisoning following exposure to leaded paint and lead-contaminated dust in and around the child’s home according to the New Hampshire Dept. of Health and the CDC.
   
Mary Alorout Kuol mourns her child, Sunday Abek, 2, after she dies of lead poisoning. The Sudanese family survived civil war and years in a refugee camp only to see the death of their youngest just weeks after their arrival to the United States.
   
George Abek, 11, brother of 2-year-old Sunday Abek, stands on the porch of his family’s apartment in Manchester, NH, on the day of his sister's funeral. Sunday Abek died of lead poisoning from ingesting peeling paint from the same porch.
     
  
Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse, right, prepares his case on behalf of the state's lead poisoned children against the manufacturers of lead paint pigment and their trade associations. Joining Whitehouse in the "War Room" are lawyers Jack McConnell, of Ness Motley, left, Christopher E. Hultquist, of Decof & Grimm and Bob McConnell of Ness Motley.
   
Brenda Matthews consults with doctors at St. Joseph's lead clinic where her daughter must have blood drawn bi-monthly to check lead levels. Ashley suffers from speech delays and attends special education classes after being hospitalized as a toddler with lead poisoning.
   
Two-year-old Mark Jordan waits for the return of his siblings, who are treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital for lead poisoning. Jordan plays in the alley outside their apartment, which is believed to be the source of the lead paint contamination. Paint chips will settle in the dirt after years of chipping away, and then make their way into the children's system when they put their hands in their mouths.
     
  
Certified lead abatement contractors inspect the home of Kerrin Field, 2, who was poisoned when her parents, one a nurse, accidentally poisoned her child during renovations on their Victorian home.
  
Lobbyist from around the United States, including a former US solicitor general representing Dupont and Sherwin Williams, descend upon the Rhode Island State House when a bill is introduced to allow municipalities to sue lead paint manufacturers.
  
At lead clinic, developmental testing is conducted on a young lead poisoned girl to determine if early intervention is necessary. Often, young children who display developmental delays will be referred to Head Start.
     
  
A curious young boy, who is found to be lead poisoned, watches as a Health Department official inspects his home for lead. In a much-debated system, an inspection is not initiated until a child is poisoned. Once the hazard is identified, the landlords are ordered to abate the problem.
   
After all three siblings are lead poisoned, and two hospitalized, the Jordan family is forced to move from their contaminated home. The search for new housing is difficult, as landlords who do not want the presence of health officials who follow the family and inspect their new home blackball them.
   
The Jordan family jump in joy and excitement as they move to their temporary lead-safe apartment offered by the HELP lead safe center. The Jordans are the first to occupy the apartment, which was dedicated by U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Tipper Gore.
     
  
The fate of a young girl is unknown as she plays in the doorway of her triple-decker home. Her cousin, recently lead poisoned, is the third at this property since 1992. Non-compliance is historic at this property, which has also seen 31 code violations since 1984.