But the state tempers the good news by noting that the percentage of youths in Rhode Island with the poison in their system is still about double the national average.
By PETER B. LORD
Journal Environmental Writer
PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Department of Health reported yesterday that the rate of lead poisoning in children dropped from 8.7 percent of all children tested in 2000 to 8.1 percent in 2001.
Doctors tested 34,800 children under age 6 in the state last year and found that 2,832 had lead levels high enough to be considered poisoned.
As recently as 1994, there were 8,245 lead-poisoned children in the state, nearly three times last year's total.
Despite the improvement, the lead-poisoning rate in Rhode Island remains about double the national average, according to state health officials.
"We've obviously made substantial progress in the last five or six years," said Al Cabral, head of the state Health Department's lead-inspection program. "That's not to say there's not a lot of work left to be done."
Childhood Lead Action Project, an advocacy group based in Providence, remains concerned that too many children are being poisoned.,
And the number of children with severely elevated lead levels actually increased to 316 last year, up from 305 the year before.
"I think we're moving in the right direction, but we're just taking baby steps to get there," said Liz Colon, of CLAP. "There are still too many children poisoned. I wouldn't have people patting themselves on the back saying they're making tremendous progress. That would be cutting the rate in half. And the rates still aren't improving enough for blacks or Hispanics."
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who sponsored legislation to require all children covered under federal health programs to be screened and treated for lead poisoning, said in a news release yesterday: "Lead poisoning is a preventable tragedy that dramatically impacts a child's ability to learn and has a significant cost for schools. With the dedicated resources of the state and federal government, we should be able to continue to reduce the incidents of lead poisoning in children. The Department of Health's report today is a welcomed sign that we are making progress in our fight."
The data released yesterday shows that children were poisoned in every one of the state's cities and towns last year.
West Greenwich and Block Island had the lowest number of poisoned kids, just two each.
The data shows that the incidence of poisonings remains much worse in urban neighborhoods where poor people live in poorly maintained housing.
In Providence last year, 1,304 children were found to be lead poisoned. There were 151 kids poisoned in Central Falls, 109 in Newport, 247 in Pawtucket, and 218 in Woonsocket.
Children in those core cities suffered a lead-poisoning rate three times higher than kids in the rest of the state, according to Patrick MacRoy, an epidemiologist at the Health Department.
Most of the incidences of lead-paint poisoning occur when children inhale or consume dust or flakes of old, lead-based paints. Tiny amounts of lead can trigger learning disabilities, reduce intelligence, and cause behavioral problems particularly for young children whose brains are still developing.
Health officials credit a broad-based effort by state agencies and private groups for helping to bring the poisoning rates down.
Because of stepped-up federal and state enforcement efforts and education programs, more house sellers are properly informing buyers of lead problems, Cabral said.
State and municipal agencies loaned millions of dollars to property owners to fix lead-paint problems last year.
The Health Department inspected 295 apartments and houses in 2001 and ordered cleanups because children had been poisoned. Cabral says he thinks those inspections had a cumulative effect once an apartment is made safe, it's not likely to poison another child anytime soon.
Also, Cabral said he believes that when some landlords endure inspections for one apartment, they are likely to clean up other apartments they might own so they don't get hit with more inspections.
Health officials also credit the high rate of screenings in Rhode Island for helping to catch young children at the onset of lead problems so that treatment can be offered quickly.
"We've done a lot to educate health-care providers and the community that screening is important," said Magaly Angeloni, program director at the Health Department.
The General Assembly is considering legislation this year designed to give landlords more incentives to clean up lead problems and reduce the risks to children.
Last year, two separate legislative efforts were launched to reduce the lead problem, one that would have used a carrot approach, the other, a stick, with severe penalties for violators.
A series of stories in The Providence Journal on the impact of childhood lead poisoning prompted many legislators to vow to change the law. But the legislation failed in the final hours of the session.
Legislative leaders are insisting that this year, a bill will pass.
