The riot that roiled the streets of West Baltimore on April 28 may have had its origin 20-plus years earlier when a little boy ingested paint flakes in his poorly maintained row house.
Freddie Gray, Jr. occupied the dwelling with his mother, older sister and twin sister from the time he was 2 years old until he was 6. From 1992 to 1996, the boy had six tests on his blood that revealed lead levels ranging from 11 to 19 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL). At that time, any value above 10 was considered toxic. Today, any lead level is considered dangerous.
Dr. Clif CleavelandThe boy's sisters also had elevated levels, and they both received treatment and followed dietary guidelines specific for children with lead toxicity.
Growing up, Gray experienced educational and behavioral problems, which were blamed on lead exposure from the walls of his home. Other cases of lead poisoning have been reported from the same neighborhood. Even today, surveys of blood lead levels from children from infancy to age 6 show that almost 7 percent of the children in Gray's neighborhood have elevated blood lead levels compared to less than 1 percent average for all of Baltimore.
In 2008, Gray's family filed a lawsuit against the property owner. A settlement was paid to the family in 2010. The property owner had defended other suits from tenants in the numerous properties that he owned in Baltimore.
Gray grew to a 25-year-old man who was arrested Sunday, April 12, after running from police. He was not suspected of any crime. When the van carrying Gray arrived at the police station, he was poorly responsive and was transferred to a hospital, where he died a week later. Death was attributed to a severe spinal injury, three broken bones in his neck. The cause has not been concretely determined; some say he did it to himself; some say police did it.
His funeral was held on Monday, April 26, and initial peaceful protests turned violent that evening, leaving burned-out stores and automobiles, injured policemen and rioters, and a number of arrests.
More than 50 years ago during my medical school years in Baltimore, chronic lead poisoning was a significant public health problem for poor, urban children. They might be brought to the hospital with seizures or in lethargic to semi-comatose conditions. They could be treated with medication to remove lead from their bodies. Seizures ended, and children became more responsive.
The effect of lead, however, upon the rapidly developing brains of children was often only partially reversible. Lead poisoning affects those areas of the brain involved in decision-making and impulse control. Affected children are more likely to have dulled intellects and behavioral outbursts in later life.
Lead has been progressively removed from our environment. It is no longer a component of gasoline or paint which had been major sources of contamination. But housing where old lead paint peels from walls or produces a fine, toxic dust pose a continuing hazard to the children who grow up in these surroundings. The flakes may be ingested and the dust inhaled.
No one knows how many apartments or houses in rundown neighborhoods in Baltimore, Chattanooga or elsewhere are potentially lead toxic. Their continued existence is unacceptable now. It should have been unacceptable 50 years ago.
It is also unacceptable that violence by a mob replaced peaceful protests following Freddie Gray's death. His death must be fully explained and publicly reported. The widespread violence must also be analyzed and its causes addressed. In each instance we can only bring closure if we correct the conditions -- inescapable poverty, unhealthy housing and unemployment -- that led to one needless death and prompted wider chaos. This is a persistent challenge that we ignore at our peril.
Contact Clif Cleaveland at cleaveland1000@comcast.net.