ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Department of Health and Human Services is granting Michigan communities more than $8 million to reduce lead exposure. One Upper Peninsula organization is using the funds to help local residents.
Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties (PHDM) has been awarded $855,000 to expand its lead hazard control services. The department has been receiving funds to support those services since 2020.
“When I started here, we had a childhood lead poisoning prevention grant that offered a lot of education for families but no real follow-up,” said U.P. Lead Coordinator Erin Kiraly. “Through a lot of advocacy and partnership, we got funds to abate homes for lead poison kits throughout the whole U.P.”
Lead is a toxin to the human body, and it gets stored in bones. Kiraly says while lead is dangerous for everyone, it is especially harmful for children.
“Obviously, they’re growing, so any sort of heavy metal in their bones is a real hindrance to their growth,” she explained. “It causes a lot of neurological defects. It can lower IQ. They have trouble with paying attention; they have trouble with growth and development. It really can affect every system of the body.”
Medicaid recipients and low-income households can apply to receive a lead inspection and hazard mitigation through PHDM.
“Our abatement can do anything from replacing doors, flooring, lead-based paint,” said Kiraly. “We also do a lot of exterior work in terms of soil abatement, siding, a little bit of roof repair here and there. It’s really just where we find the lead.”
Paint and other items containing lead are most commonly found in older homes.
“It’s usually just houses [built] before 1978 that have the lead-based paint,” Kiraly said. “Then, if people live in a newer home but they’re really into antiques or eclectic things, then some of those items can get their kids exposed and poisoned too.”
Other potential lead hot spots are faucets, as those made before 2014 were not mandated to be lead-free.
“If we know the faucet is pre-2014 or if we don’t know the age, we just replace the faucets,” said Kiraly. “One thing we also have an education about is cleaning your aerators. A lot of people don’t know that you can unscrew the part of your faucet that the water comes out of, and you can clean that little mesh piece on the inside where debris gets trapped. Lead can also get trapped in that, so even just cleaning it out can be a huge help.”
Depending on the size of the home and the extent of the lead, abatements can cost between approximately $6,000 and $10,000. The Health and Human Services funding will support the department’s goal of serving about a dozen houses per year.
Kiraly says lead hazard control services are invaluable for Upper Peninsula families looking to live healthier lives.
“The U.P. in general has a very old housing stock, so that’s kind of why we really focus on the kids,” she said. “They are still growing and developing, and any hindrance to that is kind of a deficit for them.”
To learn more about lead hazard control services available through Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties, contact Kiraly at (906) 789-8102 or ekiraly@phdm.org. PHDM can also direct households without children to alternative funding opportunities. For additional lead abatement information, visit phdm.org.
