Document RaVMmgpB79VzE2jgv1ZYreBg8

Lead Found In Teeth of Slum Children By CARY BROOTEN * Of The ttuttain Staff The "bahy" teeth of chi!* dcn of Philadelphia and sub* uriw have yielded striking new evidence for the exis tence ef.a.so-call epidnniol/W dfiiid poisoning. ' The evidence, though pro* Jimioary in nature, supports the contention of some doctors that subtle lead poisoning is widespread among toddlers in America's decaying Inner cities. It reinforces the high priority some Inner rifv groups place on the rermal of leaded paint from homes. And R may point to a re search breakthrough on the nature of the lead poisiomne problem. r% The prevalence of undoter jrd lead poisoning Is ausprclrd as one factor Mntrih* Brink to the p<w.r *rh<vy per. j * forniWt of Inner city chil dren, hince lead 1* known to affect tntsbrain. / S Times More Lead Bahy, or deciduous, teeth are the ones that fall out be. tween the ages of about I and . A research team has taken some of these teeth, analyzed them chemically, and found thai:. ' . --Bahy teeth from decaying are^a of West and North rit/ladelphin contain an avtu. aip of fjvt times more le4i fhrn bahy troth from tm MtMta, Elkin* Park and Bu t * lingtfUT Ctninly, N.J.. areag/ --While *im suburban chil dren have no measurable lead In their baby teeth, this doesn't seem to happen fn the Inner city. And on Inner-city tooth was found loaded wilh 7d times more lead than the suburban average. Harvard Professor The findings were reported at a recent psychiatric meet ing In Mexico City by Dr. Herbert 1.; Necdicmait, assis tant professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Needicmanrgot the Idea for the study while on the fae. ultv of lbe Trmple. University Health Sciences Center and the stsff of Temple's fViumwwhy Mrntal ftratih Center, which he left four months . am. The work was dona in rolhbnrsd-in with Dr. living Shapiro, a University of Penn, svlvaui* biochemist* who apeI cialir.es In Imnh and mouth i studies. IhmuSi the sample of baby teeth was statistically small - ^ ioiaf of in?l - j the dts* tributlon of results* was so | striking that. It left little doubt j about the relatively high ex* I pnsure of inner city children | to Irad pnifii-ig fcarsids. Dr. 1 Nccdlenian said In a tele} phone interview. . Housing Unit H 17 ohf Ururninul^iillrftti Sued in Use of Tuasday, January II. 1972 nervous system necessitating treatment at l pisenpa! Hospi Lead Paint tal. the seiinid ? iiM. filed on h** halt of Mrs. hvford sort th* coalition, srel s an injunction Two suits against the Phil requiring the lousing Authori adelphia Housing Authority ty to inspect j It properties tin* alleging negligence again*! I dec Its control lor Icad-hased the danger pf lead poisoning/ p^;n( (o Jromo\`f the paint to children wore fiWINlAy in wherever it /s found. Common Pleas Court. The suits were lik'd by the mother of :* child vHyiJtejlfd. ly ahdfrth'Wiis system * damagr from lead poisoning and hv the CityWide Coalition Against lead Paint Poisoning, an organisa tion of more* than M rommunitv and prnfessmnal groups. One suit, filed on behalf of Mrs. Pearline Shuford, IJM3 N. llth st., and hef daughter, Samantha. 5, seeks IKIO.tHM in e-nitive and other damages. The mu I charge* the Housing The suit siys the defendants know nr sheydd have known of Mhe presety*e of lead-hased paint on authority property as a result of rity Health De partment reports showing one mil of every three children tested in recent years has had an abnormally high level of lead in his body. The suits were filed hy John Padova of the law firm of Solo. Bergman, Trommer, Pa dova and Albert, 224 S. 15th st. Authority with negligence in exposing tbt girl to lead paint in violaIinn' of the city Health Cod* at fh* N- llth st. ad dress. a huilding owned hy the authority the suit allege-, that the oogMgrnce led to htam dam agr and Injury to the child's 'Teeth of chQdren in ghetto housing in hiladeiphia have been found to contain ve times as much lead, on the aver se, as the teeth of children in neighbor- g suburban areas. This new, confirming evidence of the - isceptibility or ghetto children to lead Jisoninp is rrjwted by researchers at * Harvard Medical School and the diversity of Transylvania. Possibly some of the higher lead in' ke came from incicased air pollution uthe city. But there is Utile doubt that ad paint flaking from the walls and oodtvork of older housing is a serious allh hazard to young children. The evidence against lead' paint 'touid prompt a number of reactions, ore concern lor possible damage to te mental and emotional makeup pf tetto children from lead-poisoning jeds to be shown by bolh'-lhe_federal ad city governments. In the fa<3oi a lead poisoning epi demic among disadvantaged children. Congress last year voted $7 million for a lead paint eradication program nation wide. Philadelphia has been taking landlords and homeowners wlit, fait to comply with the city's lead paint ordi nance to court. Out it has relief on re ports of suspected lead poisoning rather than on direct housing inspections. The Philpdelphia Housing Authomy, too, has been, slow in removing lead paint from its older rental units. / Community groups andj individuals ran do much to eliminate' lead paint themselves. Work parlies.can be orga nized to scrape and repaint lead-painted rooms. The Citywide Coalition Against Childhood head Poisoning can warn of the paint peril even more forcefully than it has done in the pas/. Lead poisoning at/tong children can be no more tolerated than other, preventable diseases! N39138