But what do you really think about Lead Safety?

CLASH reserves the right to edit for appropriateness, clarity, and decency.

Send your blog post to clevelandleadsafe@gmail.com

Where is the Lead Belt in the US

Where is lead in Cleveland?

Where is lead in your body?

Why do we say there is no safe level of lead?

At the Coit Road Farmers Market this past summer, a visitor to the CLASH table asked "is there a safe level for lead?" She said "you know there are some minerals like magnesium and copper that play a role in people's health."

We explained. Unlike other minerals

Lead is a neurotoxin that can create damage to every organ in the body
Lead has no purpose in the human body.
The body had no way to remove lead once it is ingested.

Source: Why lead is dangerous, and the damage it does

CLASHers: Share your thoughts.

blog posts must be lead related, no personal attacks or electioneering

July 20, 2025 -- Stay in Touch Subscriber Michelle Finn writes

"I have been watching Clash and the responses by City Hall for the past 5 years. I find it frustrating that lead poisoning is not decreasing in children. I work as a realtor and property manager and was licensed for lead testing.

Vilifying the landlord is not working. So I have taken it upon myself to try to help one child at a time. Just today I found the probable cause and a solution to a poisoned 2 year old.

The rental was renovated with new LVP flooring, the interior surfaces painted and new carpeting installed within the past 5 months. The landlord I was assisting was willing to allow the tenant to break their lease with no penalty due to the lead blood test results. They honestly wanted to help this family. I offered to stop by and assess the condition of the unit, it would have passed a visual clearance. I used a lead quick test, a fluorescent reagent with a black light to quickly search for lead. The entry door, LVP flooring, and window sills were OK, but when I sprayed the carpet it displayed green specs under the black light. I assumed the carpet was old, due to how dirty it was. I found out later it was less than 6 months old. The problem was the family did not own a vacuum cleaner. The carpet had never been cleaned. The carpet tested positive in the entry of the parents bedroom. Dad is a landscaper and does not take off his shoes in the home. So I left the home and searched for a vacuum cleaner at Restore and Goodwill. I finally found an Oreck Canister Vacuum at Goodwill and ordered bags for it.

This is not the first time I have seen horribly dirty carpets at a rental, but it was the first time I thought to ask if they had a vacuum cleaner. Vacuums can cost a substantial amount of money, a rag and water to clean an LVP floor is practically free. So this Mom was attempting to keep the home clean, but ultimately failed because the family could not afford a vacuum.

So my practical action plan is to suggest that while attending community events or through emails and social media communications ask for donations of vacuum cleaners. Ask event visitors if there is carpet in their rentals/homes and ask if they have the proper tools to keep it clean and lead free. Do what I did, give them the vacuum to keep their child lead safe."

Are Advocates Losing the fight for Lead Safety?

By the time that Primary Election day in September, it will have been 61/2 years since the passage of Cleveland’s Lead Safe Certificate Plan which was, by the way, a watered down version of CLASH’s 2019 ballot initiative. Lets build on what we have learned over that period of time, to make a workable plan going forward. The risk that Cleveland faces is rejection of a “failed” program. Mayor Bibb's speedy pivot from Lead Clearance Testing to Lead Risk assessment is an example of policy adapting to new information, but the risk is that the public will grow tired of failed plans. That's why speedy resolution of the certificate backlog is so important. Voters need to see steady progress towards the goal of lead safety.

Maybe mass migration the solution to the lead belt?

January 11, 2024. Scientific American. Thousands of U.S. Cities Could Become Virtual Ghost Towns by 2100 The authors’ resulting projections indicated that around half of cities in the U.S., including Cleveland, Ohio, Buffalo, N.Y., and Pittsburgh, Pa., are likely to experience depopulation of 12 to 23 percent by 2100. Some of those cities, including Louisville, Ky., New Haven, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., are not currently showing declines but are likely to in the future, according to the findings. 'You might see a lot of growth in Texas right now, but if you had looked at Michigan 100 years ago, you probably would have thought that Detroit would be the largest city in the U.S. now.' Derrible says."
Unless we're all poisoned by algae. May 6, 2025. ProPublica. Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It. "The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people."

CLASH says: It takes a comprehensive plan and a generational commitment

CLASHers are beginning to realize that there's no single answer and no quick "fix" to make Cleveland Lead Safe. As outlined on our Lead Safe Tool Kit there are 3 elements to a comprehensive strategy: Awareness, child testing and home testing. Each element must be in operation at the same time. Milwaukee is a classic example of what happens when the health department, the school system, and the community are working in isolation and fingerpointing. Here's a footnote from Milwaukee. March 20, 2025

From the March 11, 2025 Stay in Touch. What is your ideas on how to remove the BackLog at Building and Housing

SC writes: "...As a retired lead professional, i interviewed for a a job reviewing the certificates but I did not want FT employment. Karen said that due to the union i couldn't do a PT position. Here i was a well qualified candidate, wanting to come into CLE to help and then i was willing to accept a fairly low wage but they could not figure out how to repost it or talk to the union to allow me to work PT. So they do have candidates willing to come into CLE to assist them, but they don't seem willing/able to "think outside the box". I even offered to do be a contract person. crazy thing is that i could easily have 1-2 of my old co workers who are retiring to apply for these jobs, but none of us want FT employment."

In the February 23, 2025 Edition of "Stay in Touch" CLASH asked: What practices can the city adopt to speed implementation of the city's Lead Safe Certificate Law?

Here's your responses (all anonymous)

To make testing more effective and really prevent further child lead poisoning, Targeted Selection should be implemented. The City already has the data analytics to implement. Using the 2022 city wide building condition audit and GIS data, first select ALL homes described as in poor condition, collate this with children under 6 years old. Test all these home whether rentals or owner occupied. Next Target homes in Fair condition. My experience with testing makes me believe a large number of home being tested are occupied by only adults.
Hire retired lead risk assessors to clear out the backlog of cases at Building and Housing and put the new staff to work bringing more landlords into the system. Speed up the reimbursement of landlords who claim the grant from the Lead Safe Resource Center when their Certificate is approved.

The more EBLL cases you find, the better the outcome
CLASH told the funders: "There will be an increase in the number of children with elevated blood lead levels who live in CMHA properties. This seems counter intuitive for lead safe advocates to cite as an outcome, but the reality is that, for too long, children with elevated blood lead levels have not been identified at a time when they are most easily treated by removing the lead hazard and the stigma of treatment. One of the barriers to the accomplishment of lead safety is the fact that there are no good baseline statistics. For now we may have to rely on anecdotal reports to create a baseline for evaluations."

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