Her son is now performing at his grade level, and she remains hopeful that things will work out. I believe my child will eventually be functional without help. Found in about 30,000 New York children, it can cause serious problems such as mental retardation, neurological damage, and developmental disorders. If detected early enough, and if the lead contaminant is properly removed from the environment in which the child lives, the problem is fully treatable. Along every step in the process, dealing with lead is a hotly-contested political issue.
Activists call for strict regulations covering testing for lead and removing it.
They insist that landlords should be held strictly liable. Their opponents say that the demands are financially unrealistic and draconian. The primary cause of lead poisoning in children comes from lead dust and paint from peeling or deteriorated lead paint. While not confined to any one geographical area, activists have located what they call a lead belt, which runs through Red Hook, Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, and Jamaica in Queens. But when less affluent people move in, generally speaking, the landlords do not care as much.