This is disturbing (Cleveland, Rocky River, Fairview Park: condominium, home, safe area)
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Any support for this statement? Even in relatively new schools???
I would probably say even newer schools are affected. If they're in an area where the city plumbing infrastructure is old and corroded, anything hooked up to it will likely have harmful levels of lead. According to the articles below, a whopping 79% of Cleveland's water pipes are estimated to contain lead!
Lots of the older suburbs have high lead estimations too. Newburgh Heights is guessed to have in the 80% range, which is higher than Cleveland! Many other east side burbs such as Shaker, University Heights, Euclid, Garfield, etc. also are in the 70% range.
Cleveland most definitely needs to upgrade their water piping infrastructure. I just can't imagine the scope of work for this sort of project. It would cost TONS of money and would take a long time to complete.
From one of the articles: "Lead is measured in parts per billion. Think of a pinch of salt added to a 10-ton bag of potato chips. That's roughly one part per billion.
In 2015, Cleveland Water measured 90th percentile level of was 2.6 parts per billion. "
Any support for this statement? Even in relatively new schools???
I know some people who are working to address the issues and I also mentor a high schooler who confirmed there are no fountains.
They don't really tell the students why the fountains are off, nor do many families realize that there is this much of a problem. This lack of awareness is a big issue because there's very little pressure on the city to address the issue.
I think it's less of an issue in west side schools and places like Max Hayes might very well have water fountains up and running.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clevelander216
Oh man, I should probably get my blood tested for lead. I've been drinking Cleveland tap water for years!
It's heavily dependent on neighborhood - Glenville, St. Clair-Superior, East Cleveland are some of the worst. The problem is a product of outdated infrastructure where lead is being introduced via the old pipes. In places like East Cleveland where there are a lot of abandoned structures there's actually ground pollution occurring as a result of lead paint from decaying structures seeping into drinking water.
Do you have any support for this opinion? Do you know if all, or any, of the assailants in the cases discussed in this thread lacked fathers? It would be great if somebody studied situations such as this, but I remember scary, hostile employees who had mothers, fathers, and were raised in solidly middle class communities.
I've never seen any study indicating that work place assailants generally lacked fathers.
I understand the thrust of your comment, but it also ignores the dire economic conditions in many of American inner cities. Why is this tolerated?
Lead poisoning is a significant problem in Cleveland. It affects a poisoned individual's learning skills, and propensity for violence. Why don't we have a national problem to check for lead poisoning at a very early age, and subsequently, perhaps on a statistically weighted basis to identify most vulnerable populations?
<<
CLEVELAND — One hundred fifty miles northwest of here, the residents of Flint, Mich., are still reeling from the drinking water debacle that more than doubled the share of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood — to a peak, in mid-2014, of 7 percent of all children tested.
Clevelanders can only sympathize. The comparable number here is 14.2 percent.
The poisoning of Flint’s children outraged the nation. But too much lead in children’s blood has long been an everyday fact in Cleveland and scores of other cities — not because of bungled decisions about drinking water, but largely because a decades-long attack on lead in household paint has faltered. It is a tragic reminder that one of the great public health crusades of the 20th century remains unfinished....
Yet experts say that is still too much. A 2005 study concluded that increasing a child’s blood lead level to 10 micrograms from 2.4 translated to a 3.9-point drop in I.Q. A 2015 study of Chicago elementary school students concluded that blood lead concentrations of five to nine micrograms explained up to 15 percent of failing grades in reading and math.
Even tiny increases, below five micrograms, “are associated with significant decrements in performance on standardized tests,” the researchers said.
The 2000 cabinet task force found that the lead danger to children then could be substantially eliminated for what, in federal terms, was a pittance: $2.1 billion, over 10 years, to eliminate lead hazards in old homes that posed the greatest threat....
The Ohio Legislature established a Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund in 2003 to attack the lead-paint problem in older homes and to pay for blood tests of children without medical insurance — but never gave it even a dollar.>>
We're currently spending $3 billion/month in Afghanistan, likely not including wear-and-tear on equipment.
Lead exposure has been linked to violent crime.
<<
For those who had been exposed to lead as toddlers, even in small amounts, the scans revealed changes that were subtle, permanent and devastating.
The toxic metal had robbed them of gray matter in the parts of the brain that enable people to pay attention, regulate emotions and control impulses. Lead also had scrambled the production of white matter that transmits signals between different parts of the brain, largely by mimicking calcium, an element that plays a critical role in brain development.>>
It would not be surprising if there is high correlation between fatherless families, perhaps more economically challenged and likely to live in sub-standard housing, and lead poisoning in children.
It would be great if the persons most outspoken about the social causes of violent criminal behavior also focused on solving these problems and the causation factors.
Yet those most outspoken about "Fatherless America" also support politicians gutting any efforts to deal with problem, such as family planning services, birth control programs, and even abortion rights, or, even as noted above, funding programs to eliminate lead poisoning. All disgusting IMO as I want to do whatever is necessary to eliminate childhood poverty in the U.S. and the conditions that breed violent behavior.
We all can point to successful individuals raised in fatherless families. Two prominent examples are Ben Carson and LeBron James.
Anyway, I'll be interested to see what programs you would support to deal with the social and economic causes of violent criminal behavior. Do you at least support sufficiently funding programs to eradicate lead poisoning among America's children?
I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to correlate the levels of violence in various cities with their levels of lead poisoning. Have we ever done MRIs of the brains of convicted violent criminals on a statistically valid basis?
Well, so now its lead exposure and the Republican Toll Road to blame for Cleveland's woes social and economic woes.
I expect the lead exposure defense to be raised for lots of this crime then.
Haven't generations of Clevelanders been exposed to lead as well as the current and recent past ones? Why the violent crime spike the past several decades? Lead has been around a long time so I'm wondering why is it the relatively recent past that has seen this level of violent crime.
Do you have any support for this opinion? Do you know if all, or any, of the assailants in the cases discussed in this thread lacked fathers? It would be great if somebody studied situations such as this, but I remember scary, hostile employees who had mothers, fathers, and were raised in solidly middle class communities.
I've never seen any study indicating that work place assailants generally lacked fathers.
I understand the thrust of your comment, but it also ignores the dire economic conditions in many of American inner cities. Why is this tolerated?
Lead poisoning is a significant problem in Cleveland. It affects a poisoned individual's learning skills, and propensity for violence. Why don't we have a national problem to check for lead poisoning at a very early age, and subsequently, perhaps on a statistically weighted basis to identify most vulnerable populations?
<<
CLEVELAND — One hundred fifty miles northwest of here, the residents of Flint, Mich., are still reeling from the drinking water debacle that more than doubled the share of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood — to a peak, in mid-2014, of 7 percent of all children tested.
Clevelanders can only sympathize. The comparable number here is 14.2 percent.
The poisoning of Flint’s children outraged the nation. But too much lead in children’s blood has long been an everyday fact in Cleveland and scores of other cities — not because of bungled decisions about drinking water, but largely because a decades-long attack on lead in household paint has faltered. It is a tragic reminder that one of the great public health crusades of the 20th century remains unfinished....
Yet experts say that is still too much. A 2005 study concluded that increasing a child’s blood lead level to 10 micrograms from 2.4 translated to a 3.9-point drop in I.Q. A 2015 study of Chicago elementary school students concluded that blood lead concentrations of five to nine micrograms explained up to 15 percent of failing grades in reading and math.
Even tiny increases, below five micrograms, “are associated with significant decrements in performance on standardized tests,” the researchers said.
The 2000 cabinet task force found that the lead danger to children then could be substantially eliminated for what, in federal terms, was a pittance: $2.1 billion, over 10 years, to eliminate lead hazards in old homes that posed the greatest threat....
The Ohio Legislature established a Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund in 2003 to attack the lead-paint problem in older homes and to pay for blood tests of children without medical insurance — but never gave it even a dollar.>>
We're currently spending $3 billion/month in Afghanistan, likely not including wear-and-tear on equipment.
Lead exposure has been linked to violent crime.
<<
For those who had been exposed to lead as toddlers, even in small amounts, the scans revealed changes that were subtle, permanent and devastating.
The toxic metal had robbed them of gray matter in the parts of the brain that enable people to pay attention, regulate emotions and control impulses. Lead also had scrambled the production of white matter that transmits signals between different parts of the brain, largely by mimicking calcium, an element that plays a critical role in brain development.>>
It would not be surprising if there is high correlation between fatherless families, perhaps more economically challenged and likely to live in sub-standard housing, and lead poisoning in children.
It would be great if the persons most outspoken about the social causes of violent criminal behavior also focused on solving these problems and the causation factors.
Yet those most outspoken about "Fatherless America" also support politicians gutting any efforts to deal with problem, such as family planning services, birth control programs, and even abortion rights, or, even as noted above, funding programs to eliminate lead poisoning. All disgusting IMO as I want to do whatever is necessary to eliminate childhood poverty in the U.S. and the conditions that breed violent behavior.
We all can point to successful individuals raised in fatherless families. Two prominent examples are Ben Carson and LeBron James.
Anyway, I'll be interested to see what programs you would support to deal with the social and economic causes of violent criminal behavior. Do you at least support sufficiently funding programs to eradicate lead poisoning among America's children?
I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to correlate the levels of violence in various cities with their levels of lead poisoning. Have we ever done MRIs of the brains of convicted violent criminals on a statistically valid basis?
Wonder if Frank Jackson had his grandson tested for high lead levels.
Lead obviously isn't a singular, primary cause but it's definitely contributing to an overall state that fosters violent crime.
Poverty, poor education, lack of access to resources - lead exposure is symptomatic of a city in which basic services are breaking down and failing a sizable segment of the population.
Objectively speaking, exposure to high levels of lead before the age of 6 can contribute to a higher likelihood of committing violent crime. It isn't necessarily a basic linear relationship where lead = crime, but it contributes to lower IQ and levels of achievement which, when combined with all of the other issues at play, has a compounding effect.
Addressing these types of health issues is one of the ways the city needs to work towards systematically addressing crime and quality of life.
Lead obviously isn't a singular, primary cause but it's definitely contributing to an overall state that fosters violent crime.
Poverty, poor education, lack of access to resources - lead exposure is symptomatic of a city in which basic services are breaking down and failing a sizable segment of the population.
Objectively speaking, exposure to high levels of lead before the age of 6 can contribute to a higher likelihood of committing violent crime. It isn't necessarily a basic linear relationship where lead = crime, but it contributes to lower IQ and levels of achievement which, when combined with all of the other issues at play, has a compounding effect.
Bingo!
I'd also like to add peer influence as another factor. Thuggish/ghetto mentality and behavior tends to rub off on others if that is all they're surrounded by.
Youth engagement is a massively important factor in showing students living in poverty that they still have options and a future beyond what a lot of them think is achievable.
Organizations like the Foundry are making great impacts by engaging large numbers of high schoolers: Foundry | About Us
The experts say that lead has a significantly negative development impact on the human brain. It can lead to more violent behavior.
The social bigots, once again dismissive of empirical evidence and rational thought, apparently want to ignore if not dismiss and certainly not resolve what may be a primary causative factor of violence in the Cleveland community. They certainly express no interest in resolving this massive problem.
The experts say that lead has a significantly negative development impact on the human brain. It can lead to more violent behavior.
The social bigots, once again dismissive of empirical evidence and rational thought, apparently want to ignore if not dismiss and certainly not resolve what may be a primary causative factor of violence in the Cleveland community. They certainly express no interest in resolving this massive problem.
Why?
I think a massive culture change is more in order than addressing lead in our water. I am not downplaying the lead issue, but we need to tackle the thuggish/ghetto culture in urban America. Teach the youth to respect each other, do good and be positive. Push for furthering education and shame the gang life alternatives.
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