Young Sandusky girl in hospital after lead poisoning

SANDUSKY — A young girl from Sandusky has been hospitalized after suffering a severe case of lead poisoning in an older home.It is the third serious case of the poisoning of a young child in the city in the last three years. Other less severe cases of lead poisoning also have been recorded.The most recent case involves a 2-year-old girl who suffered the lead exposure about two weeks ago, said Chris Stelzer, supervisor of the lead poisoning prevention program for the Erie County Health Department. The girl is in the hospital, Stelzer said.Health commissioner Pete Schade identified the hospital as Akron Children's Hospital when he reported on the incident during the late October meeting of the county's health board.Health officials are wary about releasing too many details about the case because of health privacy rules."She should be coming home soon and we will be continuing to monitor here," Stelzer said.The Centers for Disease Control says that a blood lead measurement of 5 micrograms per deciliter is considered high. The little girl's measurement was 130, Stelzer said.The girl has a sister, about 3-years-old, who also is being monitored, and state health departments have been doing environmental testing at the home, trying to figure out the cause of the poisoning, Stelzer said. If hazards are found, the health department will work with the rental home's property owner to fix it, she said.Stelzer said there was a September 2017 case involving a little girl, now 4-years-old, who had a blood lead level of 80. In 2016, a little boy, who is now 5-years-old, tested at over 100. He is still in the 30s and will continue to be tested until his blood lead level reaches 5, Stelzer said.Sandusky also has had more moderate lead poisoning incidents.Statistics released by Stelzer show 10 confirmed cases of elevated lead levels in Sandusky in 2016, 20 cases in 2017 and 18 cases so far this year. In many cases, it's suspected children ate chips of peeling lead paint, Stelzer said.The CDC says there is no safe blood lead level for children."Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. And effects of lead exposure cannot be corrected," a CDC website states.The health department has been active in trying to eliminate lead hazards in Erie County, using federal grant money, and has made homes with young children a priority, said Bob England, chief environmental public health officer for the Erie County Health Department.The department received a $1.65 million lead hazard abatement grant in 2016 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including $1.5 million for getting rid of lead in homes and an additional $150,000 that can be used to eliminate other safety hazards in homes that have lead.The grant began in October 2016 and ends in October 2019 and targets homes with lead hazards in Erie and Lorain counties, providing assistance to low and moderate income households.The health department was given a goal of completing 80 projects. So far, it has completed 67 projects and projects it will get 25 more done before the grant ends.That would be about 12 more projects than the target. With that performance record, the health department is optimistic about getting the grant renewed next year, England said.Sandusky has many of the county's older houses with lead hazards and has received most of the benefit of the grant program.England said the 67 projects consist of 48 in Erie County and 19 in Lorain County. Sandusky accounts for 43 of the Erie County projects.The side window of a Sandusky home before it was renovated using grant money obtained by the Erie County Health Department. Note the peeling paint with lead. The same Sandusky home, after it received new paint. Lead based paint for houses was banned in 1978.