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CLEVELAND (AP) — More than 500 Cleveland homes previously cited by health officials for causing lead poisoning in children over the past six years still pose a threat, according to city and county records.
An analysis done by Cleveland.com (http://bit.ly/1U0YBUo) revealed the list of 507 homes. State records show that at least 20 of those homes have poisoned multiple children.
The addresses were deemed hazardous by the city's lead poisoning prevention program, but there's no record of the hazards being cleaned up or abated by homeowners or landlords.
Property owner Frank Allen, whose West 47th home was identified as a lead hazard in 2010, said he couldn't recall his home being inspected or cited for lead.
"I've owned it for 30 years. I've never gotten a letter or anything from the city about anything," he said.
Cleveland Chief of Public Affairs Natoya Walker Minor, who's serving as the interim director of the city's public health department, said last month that the city doesn't have enough money to confront the problem. But City Council President Kevin Kelley said the city has a responsibility to ensure its children are safe.
"At what point do we just have to say 'stop.' At what point is it criminal negligence?" Kelley said. "We're talking about poisoning kids."
Walker Minor said in December that health officials were working to enter data and gather information on 230 homes that had poisoned more than 700 children.
She said she requested money in the 2016 budget to hire two additional health department employees to conduct public health lead inspections.
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Information from: cleveland.com, http://www.cleveland.com
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