Renea Robinson isn’t sure how her children got poisoned.
Perhaps the paint in her Detroit house is to blame for elevated lead levels in the blood of three of her four children, ages 5, 6 and 8. Or the galvanized steel water pipes, which have since been replaced?
Or what about the kids’ school?
After the Flint water crisis, many schools in Michigan began testing their water for lead. And in 2016, Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy — the prekindergarten-8th grade school Robinson’s kids attend — was among 19 Detroit schools that had elevated levels of lead and/or copper after testing.
Lead is neurotoxin that can irreversibly damage brain and nervous system development, and it’s particularly harmful to young children. Robinson said recent tests showed three of her children’s blood slightly higher than the federal “level of concern,” and her oldest son suffers headaches, which is among the symptoms of lead exposure.
“I play it safe,” said Robinson, whose children’s school has since tested far below federal “action level” for lead in drinking water.