Governor has included funding in his budget to eliminate lead poisoning in kids.
Baltimore, Md (KM) Three-thousand children each year are exposed to levels of lead that result in medical case management by local health departments. That’s according to Serena McIlwain, the Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment. She says this has to stop. “When You’re exposed to lead, there are really very serious health impacts,” says Secretary McIlwain. “For example, children their bodies are just starting to develop and so they can absorb lead more easily than I could.”
And this high level of exposure to lead can affect children’s development. “When they have this exposure to lead at high levels, and really even the low levels, it can impact their developmental needs and progress, “says McIlwain.
Much of this exposure comes from lead paint used in homes built before 1978. McIlwain says the problem isn’t just confined to older homes in Baltimore City. “Frederick, Baltimore, Cambridge, Salisbury, Hagerstown, all of those places are more likely to have rental houses with lead paint, and that’s part of the problem,” she says.
If you live in a rental unit, you can find out if your unit has lead paint. “Landlords are responsible for ensuring that they are keeping up with the regulations in place for lead management. We inspect those homes,” McIlwain says. She also says tenants can ask their landlords for their latest inspection report on lead in their rental units.
MDE also has a Lead Poisoning Prevention Program which coordinates statewide efforts to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. It assures compliance with mandatory requirements tor lead reduction in rental units built before 1978; maintains a list of statewide units which are registered and inspected; and provides blood lead surveillance through a register of test results of children tested in Maryland. It also oversees case management follow up by local health departments for elevated blood lead levels; certifies and enforces performance standards for inspectors and contractors working in lead hazard reduction; and performs environmental investigations for lead poisoned children. In addition to that, the Lead Program provides oversight for community education to parents, tenants rental property owners, home owners and health care providers to enhance their role in lead poisoning prevention, according background materials on the MDE website.
Anyone wanting to know more about the Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs can go on line to https://mde.maryland.gov//programs/land/LeadPoisoningPrevention/Pages//index.aspx. This website also contains a list of contractors who have been certified by MDE in lead paint abatement services in Maryland.
Saying he wants to bring an end to childhood poverty, Secretary McIlwain says Governor Wes Moore has set aside $11 million in his fiscal year 2026 budget to deal with lead poisoning in kids. “This funding, it is really going to be helpful in expanding case management. We’re going to increase inspections, and also support removal of lead hazards from those older homes, and especially the ones in low income communities,” she says.
By Kevin McManus