Barrett, Attorney Say Paint Industry Blaming Water For Lead Poisoning

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and an attorney for nearly 170 lead-poisoned children allege the paint industry is trying to shift blame to contaminated water.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports lawyer Peter Earle’s lawsuit against lead pigment manufacturers alleges they’re attempting to create a controversy over contaminated water in order to avoid liability for lead paint they sold.

City health officials say lead paint is the primary source of lead-poisoning in Milwaukee children. Lead poisoning can cause brain and nervous system damage, as well as learning and behavior problems.

An expert being used by the paint industry says lead-based paint is no longer the primary source of exposure. He cited information from a former city health commissioner but didn’t use data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s troubling to me that lawyers defending the lead paint industry appear to be using public concern about lead and water to confuse the public and the courts because when we look at the facts and the evidence, their narrative doesn’t hold up,” said Barrett at a press conference Monday, referring to a recent report by the Milwaukee Health Department about lead-poisoning that found the main contributor to lead exposure in Milwaukee children is lead paint.

Dr. Geoffrey Swain, medical director of the city’s health department, said whether the source of exposure is paint or a lead service line, no amount of lead is acceptable in children. Still, Swain said the concentration of lead varies between lead paint and service lines.

“It’s the same lead, but … it’s more concentrated in the paint. Paint can be well more than 50 percent lead which is quite remarkable,” explained Swain.

While 72,000 homes have lead service lines, Barrett said there are 130,000 homes that have lead paint, and although the city began replacing lead laterals in 2016, the city is still as focused on lead paint abatement.

According to Barrett, Milwaukee has reduced lead poisoning by almost 70 percent since 2004.

The city’s health department estimates the cost to replace all Milwaukee lead service lines and to make every building in Milwaukee lead paint-safe will cost about $1.96 billion.

Editor’s Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 9, 2018.