How insulting is it for the Mayor of Cleveland to attack citizens for depression, when that is caused by HIS lead poisoning?

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 16:26.

Mayor Jackson has been reported to believe the problems with Clevelanders and so his Great City are all in our heads - we're depressed and have a bad attitude... get over it. In response, Cleveland leaders have initiated a variety of "don't worry be happy" "Believe in Cleveland" programs, like their latest "Happiness Virus" initiative by a group of consultants associated with the Cleveland Clinic leadership.

Unfortunately, MEDICAL SCIENCE finds this ridiculous outlook and strategy ignores the cause of citizens' very real depression here - lead poisoning.

The real science of the Archives of General Psychiatry "looked at 1,987 adults ages 20 through 39, finding that those with the highest blood lead levels were more than twice as likely to suffer a major depressive disorder and nearly five times as likely to suffer from panic disorders as those without elevated blood lead levels. The study is a rare look at how lead exposure can affect adults, as most research to date has been focused on the side effects of lead on children."

It is bad enough that our Mayor is responsible for Cleveland having the highest lead poisoning rate of any large American city, making a huge number of citizens physiologically depressed - yes that is true - but it is far worse for him to not know why... not actually do the right things about that... blame the citizens... and propose ridiculous solutions like "Researchers want to see if positive thinking is contagious enough to get Clevelanders to believe this is a winning city"... proving lead poisoning also causes mental retardation of our leadership... including at the Cleveland Clinic.

Why will the leaders of this city not accept and act upon the truth? Most adults living here were lead poisoned by leaded gas emissions (up until 1978) and from exposure to lead paint dust from pre-1970's housing, and in our soil, and that has altered our brain chemistry, causing depression. Understanding that, and helping citizens deal with their lead poisoning... and avoid further lead poisoning - THE TRUTH - is BY FAR the best thing for our physical and mental health, rather than contaminating us with viral hope, false psychology, and bad medicine. Learn the truth and take comfort that if you are often depressed it is probably just the fault of lead poisoning. No "Happy Virus" will cure that... nothing will cure that. Read the real science below and be intelligent - lead poisoning only destroys the IQ of children, and you are adults!

Lead poisoning causes Depression and Panic in adults and children.

A study released in this month’s edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry looked at 1,987 adults ages 20 through 39, finding that those with the highest blood lead levels were more than twice as likely to suffer a major depressive disorder and nearly five times as likely to suffer from panic disorders as those without elevated blood lead levels. The study is a rare look at how lead exposure can affect adults, as most research to date has been focused on the side effects of lead on children.

      Young children, infants, and fetuses absorb more lead than adults. A small amount of lead that may have little effect on an adult can have a large effect on a child who is still growing and developing. If a child is overexposed to lead it can cause disastrous consequences including the possibility of irreversible brain and nervous system damage. Even children who appear healthy can have lead poisoning. If you think your child or other family members may be at risk, contact your physician or local health department for testing. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approximately 250,000 children in the United States have blood levels greater than 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, which is the level that the CDC considers deserving of public health action.

 

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What is lead?

Lead is a natural metal found in the environment.

What are the effects of lead poisoning?

Lead is toxic and has no known function in the human body. Young children are most susceptible to the toxic effects of lead. Long-term exposure to even low levels of lead can cause irreversible learning difficulties, mental retardation, and delayed neurological and physical development. In adults, exposure to lead affects primarily the peripheral nervous system and can cause impairment of hearing, vision, and muscle coordination. Lead also damages the blood, kidneys, heart and reproductive system.

Lead poisoning is a particularly insidious public health threat because there may be no unique signs or symptoms. Early symptoms of poisoning may include loss of appetite, fatigue, irritability, anemia, and abdominal pain. Because of the general nature of symptoms at this stage, lead poisoning is often not suspected.

How do you prevent lead exposure in children?

A child is at greatest risk if he or she lives in an older home, built prior to 1950. Homes built before 1950 often contain lead-based paint. Lead may contaminate dust and be ingested when dirty hands or other non-food items come in contact with the mouth. If parents believe a child has been exposed, they should talk to the child’s pediatrician or their health care provider.

Guidelines for protection include:

  1. Frequently wash hands, pacifier, toys and other items that may go in the mouth.
  2. Feed children nutritious low-fat meals high in calcium and iron.
  3. Flush water from tap for two minutes before drinking.
  4. Use cold tap water to prepare baby formula.
  5. Do not allow children or pets to play in dirt within three feet of the house’s foundation.
  6. Wipe dust from horizontal surfaces (counters, tables or floors) with a wet cloth or mop.
  7. Use a doormat to wipe feet or remove shoes to keep dust out of the house.
  8. Remove imported vinyl mini-blinds from areas frequented by small children.
  9. Keep children away from paint chips and lead dust.
  10. Learn if your home contains lead-based paint.
  11. Contact your local health department for guidelines on remodeling a home with lead-based paint.
  12. Avoid candy from Mexico or other countries that contains tamarind and/or chili.
  13. Avoid storing or cooking food in traditional, handmade pottery from Mexico.
  14. Follow the guidelines listed below to prevent bringing lead home from work.

How do you prevent lead exposure in adults?

Precautions should be taken for work involving shipbuilding; iron processing; painting, resurfacing, and demolition of bridges, towers and other steel structures; battery manufacturing and recycling; radiator manufacturing and repair; scrap metal; firing ranges; fishing weight production; leaded glass manufacturing; lead ore production and smelting.

To reduce exposure to lead, workers should:

  1. Wash hands and face before eating, drinking or smoking.
  2. Eat, drink and smoke only in areas free of lead dust and fumes.
  3. Work with your employer to reduce lead in the workplace. This may include special ventilation equipment or use of a properly fitted respirator.
  4. Do not sweep or blow lead-contaminated dust. Wet cleaning and vacuuming are safer.

How do you keep from bringing lead home from work?

  1. Use separate work clothes and shoes while at work.
  2. Keep street clothes in a clean place.
  3. Shower at work before going home.
  4. Launder work clothes at work. If you take clothes home, wash and dry them separately.

How is lead used?

Historically, lead was used as a pigment in house paint, an additive to gasoline and as a pesticide. Currently, it is used in lead-acid batteries, fishing weights, marine paint, lead shot, bullets, and in the manufacture of some plastics.

In 1990 the lead-acid battery industry accounted for about 80 percent of the domestic lead production. Ammunition, brass and bronze, extruded products, sheet lead, ballast, containers, ceramics, and gasoline additives represented the remaining 20 percent. Recently, the electronics industry is using more lead in the areas of magnetic imaging, transistors, night vision equipment, and energy generation.

Where is lead found?

Paint: Lead-based paint is the most common source of lead poisoning for children in the nation. Lead was widely used in most interior and exterior oil-based paint prior to 1950. Children are exposed to lead when they eat paint chips or chew painted surfaces. Lead-based paint is most dangerous when it is peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking, or is located on a surface that is subject to damage from repeated impacts such as door frames. Improper renovation of homes with-lead based paint can generate lead in the air, dust and soil in and around the home.

Soil and dust: Lead-based paint can be a major source of lead-contaminated soil around the home as a result of peeling and chipping paint and remodeling activities, such as sanding and scraping of paint. Industries such as lead ore mining, lead ore milling, smelting, municipal solid waste incinerators, and lead-acid battery recycling facilities can be sources of lead-contaminated soils. Lead-contaminated soil is a potential source of exposure, directly through a child’s hand-to-mouth activity, and indirectly as a contributor to indoor floor dust when tracked into the home.

Air: Sources of airborne lead include emissions from gasoline combustion, smelters, and battery manufacturers, among others. Windblown dust is another source when the dust contains lead. Due to the federal Clean Air Act, there is less lead in motor fuels and tighter emission controls on industrial activities. This has driven air emissions of lead down nearly 90 percent during the last 20 years.

Water: Industrial facilities, urban runoff and atmospheric deposition are sources of lead in the aquatic environment. Lead solder can contaminate drinking water. For more information, call the local health department or EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791.

  • Avoid direct contact with soil if you live near a lead polluter, in an urban area or near a highway. Touching soil with bare hands and getting it into the mouth can be hazardous.
  • Keep kids on grassy areas or pavement when they play outside, and avoid playing in the dirt. Wash hands as soon as you get home.
  • Save food and snacks for indoors, after you've washed up. Lead lingers in soil and dust, and can get ingested when kids put their hands in their mouths.
  • Take shoes off at the door to avoid tracking contaminated dust or soil into the house.
  • Vacuum carpets frequently -- a HEPA vacuum cleaner is best. Also use a damp rag to clean windowsills, surfaces and moldings. A damp mop is the best way to clean up lead dust particles from hard floors.
  • Use gloves when you're gardening, and if you want to grow food, have the soil tested for heavy metals first. Alternatively, dig out the area of the garden bed, down to a depth of six inches or more, and replace the soil with clean topsoil. Root and vegetable crops, such as carrots and lettuce, tend to pick up more lead. Choose fruit crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomatoes or strawberries to minimize the risk of lead contamination.
  • Check for peeling or flaking paint, especially around windows, doorframes and molding, if your house was built before 1978. Get the paint tested. The do-it yourself kits available at most hardware stores aren't always completely reliable, but they're a reasonable first step. Before having any renovations done, have the paint professionally tested. If there is lead in the paint, make sure a certified lead remediation contractor does the renovation work.
  • Test imported dishware or pottery with a lead swab, available at most hardware stores, before cooking or serving food in it. Lead paints and glazes are still used outside the United States and Europe, and contaminated dishware and pottery -- particularly from Mexico and China -- has been found on store shelves in the United States.
  • Watch out for toys imported from China, cheap kids' costume jewelry and candy made in Mexico -- these products could be contaminated with lead and pose a risk to children.
  • Let tap water run a couple of minutes in the morning before you drink it, to make sure any water that has been standing in the pipes has run through -- you can collect it for watering your plants. Or use an NSF-certified water filter, available at most stores, for your drinking water. Charcoal filters (including filter pitchers) are effective at removing lead.
  • Avoid drinking regularly from leaded crystal if you're pregnant

 

More sources of lead

In 2007, millions of toys made in China were recalled from multiple countries due to safety hazards including lead paint.  Vinyl mini-blinds, found especially in older housing, may contain lead. Lead is commonly incorporated into herbal remedies such as Indian Ayurvedic preparations and remedies of Chinese origin. There are also risks of elevated blood lead levels caused by folk remedies like azarcon and greta, which each contain about 95% lead Ingestion of metallic lead, such as small lead fishing lures, increases blood lead levels and can be fatal.  Ingestion of lead-contaminated food is also a threat. Ceramic glaze often contains lead, and dishes that have been improperly fired can leach the metal into food, potentially causing severe poisoning  In some places, the solder in cans used for food contains lead. People who eat animals hunted with lead bullets may be at risk for lead exposure Bullets lodged in the body rarely cause significant levels of lead poisoning but bullets lodged in the joints are the exception, as they deteriorate and release lead into the body over time

 

Other sources of lead in the home.

Hobbies:

  • Making stained glass windows using lead solder
  • Glazing and firing pottery and ceramics
  • Making lead weights
  • Reloading and making ammunition
  • Target practice on indoor and outdoor firing ranges
  • Refinishing furniture
  • Remolding

 

Home Remedies:

  • Azarcon and greta are bright colored powders containing almost 100 percent lead. They are often used within the Hispanic community and are given to children with intestinal illness or empacho.
  • Pay-loo-ah is a red or orange powder used within the Hmong community and given to children as a cure for rash or fever.
  • Ghasard, Bala Goli, and Kandu are Asian Indian remedies used for stomachaches.
  • Kohl or surma are used by Arab communities for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.

Where is blood lead testing done?

Parents who want their children tested should contact a pediatrician or health care provider.

Where can I get more information?

  • All questions regarding lead, call toll free (800) 909-9898.
  • Lead Surveillance and Reporting, call Eric Ossiander, Office of Epidemiology, 
    (360) 236-4252.
  • Information about lead in the workplace, call Steve Whittaker, Department of Labor and Industries, (360) 902-5663.
  • For general information call the National Lead Information Center 1-800-LEAD-FYI
  • For information in Spanish, call 1-800-424-5323.

 

 

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"Happiness Virus"...hmmm.....

hmmm....humm.... just what can I say?

Lead Cost

NEO CHANGE is possiable with capitalization.  How much would this cost and come from where?

First step is hitting the streets with new inspectors

First step is hitting the streets with new inspectors - in EC we have around 11,000 structures left in about 2 square miles... a team of deputized inspectors could cover that, do preliminary inspections, build databases and GIS and set a preliminary scope of work in a few weeks - biggest problem will be working with residents to arrange convenient access. Just that contact and the education the inspectors would provide could save 100s of children (e.g. finding CLEANING problems and minor but high hazard problems like chipping paint in a child's bedroom... making resident aware lead is a hazard - providing tips to prevent exposure). That should also surface immediate poisoning certainties and prioritize to bring in immediate, already funded help. The worst cases would be funded from existing remediation funds ($4.5 million more for Cleveland last month) and the minor cases will be handled various ways... perhaps Home Depot and the Blank Foundation will step up with supplies - in most cases all they do now is touch up painting anyways... a few $100s or 1000s per house... lots of out-of-work painters working cheap around here - window and door replacements where necessary. The costs are superficial compared to the savings to government (dysfunctional schools, healthcare, mental health, prison, crime, etc...) - and the hardship avoided.

This approach is the opposite to how it is done now - here they wait for children to test positive for poisoning (meaning they are already brain damaged) before trying to find them and find the cause - truly stupid and ineffective beyond belief.

Ask my kids.. they sure know... poisoned in a mansion in Shaker NEVER INSPECTED FOR LEAD - my parents pay near $40,000 a year in property taxes for that dis-service... but Shaker will lock you up if there is a gap in your exterior tuck-pointing... a community that only cares about appearances.

Most places, they don;t even care about that - inspection in Cleveland is for intimidation and gentrification... truly criminal

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norm is more alturistic - dennis kucinich called me alturistic

norm is more altruistic - dennis kucinich called me altruistic - i hope to be more altruistic - real coop altruistic

 

yogi and guy - http://www.disclosureproject.com TRUTH - EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL http://www.nationalwardogsmonument.org

Guy - you are a Vet - you can be an inspector

Guy - you are a Vet - you can be an inspector - you'd be great... very caring.

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i'll be an inspector for free - i'm so full of lead

i'm so full of lead radiation won't go through me

Me too... same for all painters and renovators

Me too... same for all painters and renovators - they test 3x or more over the hazard level... need to work on protecting them better in the process.

You're definitely hired (for free) - we're working on getting funding so not for free.

Put your investigative skills to the highest and best use...

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how can i get tested - i know i'm posioned - but how much

Our lead shows mostly in our teeth and bones

Our lead shows mostly in our teeth and bones... unless we have constant new exposure showing in our blood - but few adults are tested unless they show up in ER and the doctor is really smart.

The teeth are like trees - take an extracted tooth and cut a sample and you know the lifetime exposure - study of that in Cleveland on realNEO here... very interesting write-up.

And, it is in our bones - that can be tested but not anywhere I know in Ohio - not something an individual can arrange - so it is not really possible to do the type of lead testing adults need anywhere in America.

Painter's blood is tested because they have constant new exposure - if their blood is showing 30 micro-grams per deciliter active poisoning imagine the level stored in their bones over life - kidney failure... heart disease... all sorts of bad things to come.

More about your teeth, old man:

Comparison of relative temporal changes in lead concentration in tooth enamel and lake sediments, and relative changes in the total amount of lead additives to gasoline
Comparison of relative temporal changes in lead concentration in tooth enamel and lake sediments, and relative changes in the total amount of lead additives to gasoline. Maximum absolute values and symbols are:  4.94 μg/g (teeth, smoothed data, uninterrupted line), 72.7 ppm (“new core Lake Erie sediment, triangles), 41.1 ppm  (Graney et al., 1995 Lake Erie sediment, open circles), and 253,000 mt of lead additives to gasoline produced in the US, closed circles (see Methods).

This study - Childhood lead exposure and uptake in teeth in the Cleveland area during the era of leaded gasoline - reports on a recent Case Western Reserve University-affiliated analysis of the lead burden of Cleveland children through the period when leaded gasoline was introduced and later phased out (from about 1930 to 1990), surfacing critical implication. The conclusions explain much about Cleveland's past and present conditions - and the conditions of our citizens - and raise significant concerns for Cleveland's future, which community leaders and government must address at all levels, to the White House... regarding lead poisoning in Northeast Ohio from the 1930s to now:

  • The extrapolated peak level of 48 μg/dL (range 40 to 63) is associated with clinical and behavioral impairments, which may have implications for adults who were children during the peak gasoline lead exposure.
  • It is likely that still greater changes would be expected in contemporary African-American adults, 25–40 years old in 2010, whose teeth showed the equivalent of a PbB of 48 μg/dl at the peak of lead uptake from leaded gasoline
  • In the 1976–1980 national studies (Mahaffey et al., 1982), PbB in white urban children was 75% of that in African-American urban children, an estimated peak PbB of about 36 μg/dl might be expected in the former group.
  • A PbB level of 48 μg/dl (corresponding to the maximum lead values found in teeth) would be associated with neuropsychological, behavioral and patho-physiological deficits (Lidsky and Schneider, 2003; ATSDR, 2007), and many children undoubtedly had far higher levels than the mean.
  • Wright et al. (2008) found over 2.5 fold increases in juvenile arrests for violent crimes for children with mean PbB of only 26 μg/dl
  • Dietrich et al. (2001) found increases in later delinquent and antisocial behaviors related to high childhood lead levels (their highest values were about 34 μg/dl)

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lots of lead in printers ink as we read - posion - new ink soy

Lead is still everywhere... especialy coming from China

Lead is still everywhere... especially coming from China.

Plastics and electronics - toys - places you'd never imagine - kids need to learn to keep everything but food out of their mouthes and wash their hands constantly. Same for adults.

I'm especially concerned about Mittal and all the painted and scrap metal they process - and all metal recycling here - lead dust is a serious problem in and around metal recycling facilities - there is contamination when the metal is torched and cut - people working in these environments are at high exposure - and I believe it goes into the air and across the community when the metal is melted down.. I'm researching that science now... there is a massive recycling facility near here where I saw very high lead emissions reported... probably across the board. Would be easy to hide, if stack testing is periodic, as the processor could sort clean metal for test cycles... this is something that could be gamed for inspection.

In Germany, they have problems with pot dealers adding lead to pot to increase the weight cheaply - many people have suffered from that - I wouldn't be surprised if that happens here (another reason to legalize and regulate MMJ).

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Research finds few landlords advise tenants about lead

Research finds few landlords advise tenants about lead hazards - and landlords are responsible for providing lead free housing - that is a crime - they should go to jail - they should be fined - they must fix the problem. If they can't afford that, they cannot be a landlord, simple as that (no rights to brain-damage children in America). That takes care of probably half the exposure in EC. Government just doesn't care - doesn't enforce the right laws - protects all the wrong people (councilpeople, donors, cousins, etc.) - cost of corruption!

I know some good people with the Cleveland Tenants Organization who will be glad to help.

NOTE - ALL CDCs HERE HAVE COMPLETELY FAILED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE - DON'T EVEN TRY - I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY ARE FUNDED AND STAFFED AS THEY SUCK.

Lead poisoning remediation is not expensive - lead poisoned brain damaged leaders are expensive.

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Low percentage of children are tested - testing ineffective

Low percentage of children are tested - in high risk zip codes ALL CHILDREN MUST BE TESTED BY LAW - we actually see a rate of around 32% - that is the fault of shitty doctors not caring for their patients... just treating them like animals. Where there is testing, it often is not sensitive enough - need better more accurate more convenient testing of children (and mothers BEFORE they are pregnant).

Everyone in these high risk neighborhoods needs VITAMINS - that helps block the lead in the bones and out of the blood stream.... especially important in pregnancy and small children - I suggested University Hospitals could at least provide vitamins to all the people they pollute at MCCO... seems fair huh... vitamins are expensive (why?)... I'm sure a hospital or government (VA) can get them very cheap... why not pass on the saving in bulk?

Better nutritional training and access to better fresh food (urban farming, not in lead contaminated soil)... chickens in backyards... change EVERYTHING about urban living... prepare people for food scarcity in the process.

Need better, cheaper, easier, more accurate testing of actual lead hazards - there are few companies providing test equipment (expensive) and chemical test kits (expensive and inconvenient).

These are all business opportunities for here... jobs for here... lead soil samples are sent out of state for testing now, for example - expensive... WHY?

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NEO CHANGE is possible if we capitalize the lead solution.



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NEO CHANGE is possible if we capitalize the solution to meet the goals of all involved in the East Cleveland public private coalition to address the lead problem in the city. Our experience is that comprehensive generational lead poisoning remediation is expensive, done right, aprox. $14,000 per HH including soil and public lands allocated per HH, based on a 20,000 HH solution.

For East Cleveland that would mean we would have to do at least a One Hundred and Fifty Four Million Dollar Daniels IDIQ Third Frontier Issuance.

We would start operations by establishing joint operating venture enterprise next week and proceed to capitalize it through open membership in its special interest group.  Hargrove Engineering LLC as a partner will embed its capabilities into the venture and my professional licensees and permits.

I'm asking the EPA in DC to address initial funding

I'm asking the EPA in DC to address initial funding - be as creative as you may but bottom line is that there is plenty of money provided to Cleveland to take care of core lead poisoning prevention but it is spent wrong - add all the SII money our mayors and CDCs wasted on demolition for gentrification and developer land banking rather than renovation for remediation - didn't create any jobs - didn't create housing - didn't protect children - why do I hate our ledership here?!?!

I'm asking the EPA to fix that, and then children won't need to be lead poisoned. It is all the fault of local leadership - I know.

TODAY, MORE CHILDREN WERE LEAD POISONED BECAUSE WE DELAYED.

TOMORROW, MORE CHILDREN WILL BE LEAD POISONED IF WE DELAYED.

ADD THE DAYS UP - ADD THE LEAD POISONED CHILDREN AND COSTS TO SOCIETY UP - UNTIL WE GET THE FIRST STEP RIGHT.

Nothing anyone says will change that - only doing will change that.

I'm disgusted seeing children lead poisoned here - if this place isn't going to get real about that I'll take my lead poisoned kids where leaders are serious about children's health and provide good education for all.

Bad enough I need to try to educate them here... to let them get hurt more is unacceptable.

I've had the answers for years and know the leaders do not want to address the real problem. And I know why - Jones Day and Sherwin Williams.

Jones Day is hopeless- Sherwin Williams certainly can change.

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