95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley: 'No easy fix' when it comes to lead contamination in Kent County

As lead contamination continues to be a concern in West Michigan, Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley presented a list of recommendations to the Kent County Lead Task Force on dealing with lead in West Michigan, including a data system that can determine where lead contamination has a higher probability of existing. Calley said however, the effort will still have to be boots on the ground fix. 

“It’s going to require an address by address, house by house response, there isn’t an easy across the board way to do it,” Calley said.

According to a 2016 report from Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services, 6 percent of Kent County children under the age of 6 years had lead detected in their blood work. While Flint’s drinking water crisis has put lead contamination on the front page in recent years, Grand Rapids lead problem stems from paint in homes built before 1978. It was then that lawmakers banned lead in paint, however, four out of five homes in Grand Rapids were built prior to 1978.

Related Content