TOLEDO, Ohio — Escuela SMART Academy in Toledo's Old South End hosted a special lead-awareness event Thursday before opening the school for classes next Monday.
While children played in the school's cafeteria, experts from the Environmental Protection Agency taught their parents about the risk of lead. In keeping with Escuela's mission of providing bilingual education, presentations were delivered in both English and Spanish.
"It's extremely important that we continue to raise awareness about lead exposure and the hazards and the mitigation that comes with it," said Shannon Walsh, a life scientist with EPA Region 5's lead-based paint program. The region covers much of the midwest, including Ohio and Michigan.
The presentations not only taught parents about the hazards of lead, but also the places it might be found.
"Because Toledo has a lot of very old buildings, a lot of time the paint or the piping or even the soil will have high lead," school nurse Martha Ohashi said.
After the presentation, some children were given blood tests by Mercy Health professionals. All that was needed was a prick of the finger and a stuffed animal to appease the child. Using a device called the LeadCare II, Mercy staff was able to tell the parents if their child had high levels of lead in their blood within three minutes.
"Lead exposure is unable to be seen or detected without specifically looking for it," Walsh said.
Once a child has tested positive for high lead, it is recommended that they undergo further bloodwork.
"The next step is a venous draw and that's where some of the parents are limited," Ohashi said. "They don't have the healthcare access."
Children with high levels of lead may experience a myriad of medical issues. Lead exposure may result in developmental delays, behavioral problems, and other cognitive and physical issues.
Lead is a recurring concern for Escuela SMART Academy.
"We had a lead campaign last year, and we did find that out of 100 students that were tested, about 50% of them had high lead in their blood," Ohashi said.
This is not a localized concern.
"Our school is very unique," Ohashi said. "Last year when we tested the students, they represented about 11 zip codes of Toledo, so that gives us a better idea that it's not just one area affected with lead, but it's around Toledo. Like, most of the Toledo area."
This confirms the EPA's concerns with the Toledo area.
"In Toledo, every single zip code is considered high risk for lead exposure," Walsh said.
If you suspect that you or your child has been exposed to lead, seek medical assistance. Also, contact the Ohio Department of Health or Lead Safe Toledo.