A decade of work by MEC, teaming with children's advocates, bore fruit in late December when Governor Jennifer Granholm signed four new laws aimed at helping families avoid living in houses that may contain lead-based paint, which can poison young children and hinder their intellectual and physical development.

MEC targeted lead in the mid-1990s after a previous state administration initially refused a multi-million dollar federal grant to remove lead hazards in Michigan housing. Since then, MEC has won $5 million in state funding for lead control to protect kids and supported enactment of laws that set quality standards for lead hazard abatement contractors.

According to a 2003 state report, as many as 20,000 Michigan children under age 6 may be affected by lead poisoning, although MEC estimates the number is significantly higher. The report called for a comprehensive approach to focusing on prevention, public awareness, increased screening and improved rental housing.

Lead is a toxin that builds up in the body when it is ingested. Children often are exposed to lead through cracking, peeling, lead-based paint in older buildings. Lead-based paints were banned more than 30 years ago, but many older homes and buildings still have remnants of the paint on walls or trim. People of any age can be adversely affected by lead exposure, but young children are especially vulnerable because their brains are still developing.

In Michigan, the highest incidences of lead poisoning are in the Counties of Wayne, Kent, Muskegon, Berrien, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Genesee, Ingham, Saginaw and Oakland. Cities of particular concern are Detroit, where 63% of the houses were built prior to 1950, and Grand Rapids, which has the highest concentration of lead poisoning in the state.

"These new measures will help prevent more children from being sickened by lead poisoning," Granholm said. "Families need to know if they are exposing their children to lead poison, because it is 100% incurable but 100% preventable."

The laws signed in December include one sponsored by Sen. Martha G. Scott (D-Highland Park) establishing a Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Commission; two sponsored by Sen. Bill Hardiman (R-Kentwood) and Rep. Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) establishing a Lead Safe Housing Registry; and a fourth sponsored by Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) prohibiting rental agents, landlords or owners from knowingly renting lead-contaminated units to families with children and prescribing penalties for violations.