A hefty federal grant will put the City of Grand Rapids over its goal to remove hazardous lead paint from 1,000 older homes across the city, and will protect untold numbers of children from the debilitating effects of lead poisoning.
According to excerpts from the story:
GRAND RAPIDS -- The federal government is giving the city's "Get The Lead Out" program a $4.6 million boost, U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers and city officials announced today.
The new money will remove lead-based paint hazards from 336 more city homes, said Paul Haan, executive director of Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan. The program has cleaned up 740 homes since it began in 2001, he said.
Accordingly, testing for childhood lead poisoning levels has shown improvement, Haan said. Since 2001, lead poisoning rates have fallen 67 percent in Kent County.
Read the complete story here.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.