TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The Toledo City Council is moving forward on a measure to increase enforcement of lead contamination.
The push comes as community groups like The Junction Coalition are out in the community educating residents about the dangers of lead.
85% of homes in Toledo were built prior to 1980. Homes built before 1978 have presumed lead in them, which is adding to worries.
On any given day, approximately 3,500 children in Lucas County have elevated lead levels.
In Toledo’s north side, a meeting took place to educate and provide resources to those who may be exposed to lead.
“We’re trying to create Toledo to be a lead-free community,” said Archie Beasley Jr., a Program Director at The Junction Coalition.
The Junction Coalition, with the help of a three-year CDC grant, supports thousands of Toledoans to find solutions to lead issues.
“Lead to a neurotoxin, there is no amount of lead that is safe for a child,” Beasley said. “Let me repeat that. There is no amount of lead for a child.”
With the meetings comes a specific focus on children, some of the most vulnerable.
“It literally takes IQ points away from your child, their intelligence becomes lower because they’re being impacted by lead, there’s nausea, there’s kidney disease,” Beasley said.
The Junction Coalition Executive Director, Alicia Smith, said the CDC grant is an important tool.
“This grant opportunity educates folks that it is in your soil, it is and possibly is in your home. But there are ways to detect it, there are ways to abate it,” Smith said.
It’s recommended to parents that children exposed to lead should be tested at least once a year.
The Junction Coalition has testing partnerships with Nationwide Children’s Hospital-Toledo Primary Care, Neighborhood Health Association, and the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.
Thousands of people in the Junction neighborhood have been assisted by the work of the coalition.
Beginning later in 2025, The Junction Coalition will go citywide to increase their outreach and provide resources.
To learn more about The Junction Coalition’s efforts, click here.
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-04-15 23:18:00
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