Getting the lead out - not fast enough

County Executive Marc Poloncarz wants to spend (more like invest) $3.75 million to get the lead out of Erie County houses. As we all know from the travesty that is Republicant leadership in Detroit, lead causes serious brain damage that has long term health effects and fiscal costs in education and health.

Buffalo on WNY have that same problem – brain damage from lead – but from a different source. Lead paint from houses that were built before WWII.

Lead paint powder is breathed in by people of all ages and children eat anything they put in their mouths – like lead paint chips. So we now have a multi-generational problem.

There are even more problems that require the spending of this money.

There are not enough inspectors to go around and inspect all the houses to see where the lead contamination is. So some people will be dealing with this problem for an even longer period of time.

To make matters worse, lead abatement, like asbestos abatement, requires training and certification. And equipment. There aren't enough people in Erie County trained in the process. If they aren't trained, I doubt they have the masks, etc. that they need to clean up the lead paint.

Now multiply that over the eight counties of WNY and you get an even worse picture. Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and other big cities get the attention because of their size.

Tell me about Dunkirk, Jamestown, Wellsville, Warsaw, Batavia, and the many small towns and communities in the area. I'll bet that if we were to go test those communities that we would find even more problems.

Senator Chuck Schumer is working to add even more money to this lofty (and necessary) goal, but with the dysfunctional Congress that we have right now, somehow I doubt that will happen. (Then again, we could get some Christians to raise this as a “Right to Life” issue. After all, life is what happens after birth, so … any takers? I doubt it.)

Let me be clear on this: I fully support the efforts being made. These are good first steps. We need more. I've read in various places that the proposed amounts will cover 60-70% of the affected homes.

That's not enough.

We need 100% covered.

And then there are the “after costs.” The medical costs of chelation therapy to get the lead (as much as possible) out of the people's poisoned bodies. And then the educational costs to deal with the children that are suffering from brain damage as a result of lead poisoning.

One other thing about the education of these children: They need a mandatory exemption from the ridiculous Common Core Testing that proves nothing. And the performance of these students cannot be held against their teachers. I wonder how many lead damaged students are dragging down test scores? Nobody is talking about that.

The people afflicted and affected by lead need more than sob stories in the news and our compassion.

They need action.

Tomorrow might be too late.

They need our help now.