One census tract in Lansdale had nearly four times as many poisoned children — 12.6 percent — compared to Flint, Michigan’s 3.2 percent during the height of its water crisis in 2014
When Lansdale resident Karalyn McGrorty Derstine, Ed.D., moved her family to the suburbs, she expected safety. What she did not expect was a hidden danger inside her home — one that would leave her young child with lifelong consequences.
“My child is living with lifelong consequences of a neurotoxin because of $52 that I didn’t know I should have spent,” Derstine told Lansdale Borough Council on Aug. 20, referring to encapsulation paint that could have sealed away lead-based paint in her home. “Did I believe that I’d be moving into a house that contained a neurotoxin that would negatively impact my child for the rest of his life? Absolutely not. Why would I?”
Derstine described how a single chipped wall in her child’s playroom exposed him to lead dust, leading to developmental changes and extremely high blood lead levels.
“We saw a drastic change in our child’s development — a really pleasant, happy little baby who suddenly began to have really significant tantrums that were not typical,” she said.
After pushing for retesting, she learned her child’s lead level was just one point below the threshold for hospitalization.
She added that the injustice of lead exposure lies in its hidden nature: “Lead tastes like cotton candy. It’s sweet. It’s palatable. Kids eat lead paint because developmentally, it’s appropriate for them to put things in their mouths. Once they get the taste, they get addicted to it.”
Troubling statistics for Lansdale
Derstine was joined by Rosemarie Halt, a health policy consultant for Children First and the Lead Free Promise Project, which is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Halt presented data showing the scope of the problem.
“In Pennsylvania, about 11,500 children test positive for lead each year. In Montgomery County, that number is about 400 children. In Lansdale, it’s 41 children on average between 2018 and 2022,” Halt said, citing county health department data.
Testing rates remain dangerously low. Only 20 percent of children under six are tested in Pennsylvania, and in Montgomery County the rate is even lower at 16 percent.
“The issue with that is these numbers would be much, much higher if every child was tested. It’s a hidden issue in our communities,” Halt said.
Housing stock is a major factor. Statewide, 70 percent of homes were built before 1978, the year lead paint was banned. In Montgomery County, the figure is 67 percent. In Lansdale, it’s a staggering 94 percent.
“As I was driving in here, looking at all these beautiful Victorian homes, I kept thinking, how many of these houses have lead-based paint in them?” Halt said.
Halt also warned that one census tract in Lansdale had nearly four times as many poisoned children — 12.6 percent — compared to Flint, Michigan’s 3.2 percent during the height of its water crisis in 2014.
Push for a lead-safe ordinance
The advocates urged Lansdale officials to follow other Pennsylvania municipalities, such as Norristown and Yeadon, in passing a lead-safe, lead-free ordinance.
Such ordinances typically require rental properties, childcare centers, condemned properties, and property transfers to be certified by a state inspector as either lead-free or lead-safe. Lead-safe properties must be retested every three years. Halt emphasized that the burden would not fall on municipalities.
“All they’re requiring is the certificate saying that they meet these standards,” she said.
In Norristown, Halt noted, 85 percent of properties are now considered lead-safe or lead-free.
“You haven’t seen major protests happening there. It went very smoothly, and people are really seeing significant impact,” she said.
Since late 2021, Norristown’s Lead Poisoning Prevention and Lead Hazard Control Ordinance requires all pre-1978 rental properties to be inspected and certified lead-safe or lead-free in order to obtain or renew rental licenses – no child-under-six trigger needed. Property transfer inspections also include a lead inspection within six months of transfer.
By October 2023, Norristown reported more than 4,300 housing units certified under the program. Landlords usually hire certified inspectors, and certificates go to the Department of Buildings & Code Compliance. Failing properties must complete hazard reduction before renewal.
Over in Allentown, Lehigh County, city code enforces lead-safe conditions: Homeowners must complete necessary paperwork to retore a unit to lead-safe status under certain methods set by the health director. Allentown’s program is supported by HUD.
Furthermore, Lehigh County goes beyond the four walls of the home: Its water authority conducts testing of water chemistry to minimize leaching from private plumbing.
Halt explained that the financial case for prevention is equally strong.
“For every dollar that we spent removing lead paint-based hazards in children’s homes and apartments, $17 to $221 would be returned in health benefits, increased IQ, higher lifetime earnings, tax revenue, reduced spending on special education, and reduced criminal activity,” she said.
A call for prevention
Derstine closed her remarks by stressing the need for action in Lansdale.
“I believe that every homeowner and renter in Lansdale should have the opportunity to be informed of the possibility of lead in their home so they can make informed decisions,” she said. “It is inexpensive. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And in this case, there is no cure.”
Her child now lives with speech delays and hearing loss.
“I live with concerns about my child’s future. That shouldn’t be part of my reality because it was $52 that could have saved us from this,” she said.
Urging council to take steps, Derstine said society owes more to our children.
“This is not an individual issue. This is a societal issue that we need to address as a community to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our children,” she said.
