The blood lead level that constitutes lead poisoning keeps dropping, too, Paul Kowalski (pictured holding a T-shirt given out to kids all over New Haven) explained. He heads the city health department's Bureau of Environmental Health and is the point person on the issue. He and some of his staff members spent Saturday morning at Grand Paint in Fair Haven, discussing with customers the dangers of lead poisoning, passing on tips for abatement, and letting homeowners know that funding is available to do the abatement work to keep young children safe.

"In the 1970s, lead levels above 65 micrograms per deciliter in a child's blood were considered lead poisoning," he said, resulting in reductions in IQ and motor skills and requiring abatement. "Now a blood level of more than 10 micrograms per deciliter is the definition of lead poisoning." He said it's an insidious ailment, even at that low level resulting in neurological impairments as the child grows, but not obvious at the time of diagnosis. The federal Environmental Protection Agency just last week said it would consider lowering the level at which it defines lead poisoning yet again. "There's no safe level," Kowalski said, adding that New Haven would like to set the level at five micrograms per deciliter.

He noted that between 2006 and 2007, the number of young children in the city with levels of 10 mc/d or higher has dropped from 299 to 260, while the number with lead levels above 20 has dropped to 55 children.

Reporting is required at any level over 10, but abatement is required only at 20 or more mc/d. But Kowalski said a member of his team will go out upon request to any home and test for lead, thus reversing the longstanding practice of identifying a residence with high lead levels only after a child had tested positive for it.

What's a homeowner to do once lead paint is identified? Most of the housing stock in the city was covered in lead paint, which was banned for interior use only in 1978.

Grand Paint's paint manager, James Carlozzi (pictured on the right with a customer, Roslyn Hamilton, who just happens to work for the health department but was there buying paint), said he sells a special lead-blocker paint that can be applied right over surfaces covered with lead paint.

"It blocks the lead from coming through itself. And if it does chip off, it contains bitrix, which is very bitter-tasting, so if children put it in their mouth, they don't like it." He said he'd never tried lead paint himself, but he's heard that it has a sweet taste that kids find appealing.

Another customer, Charles Maddox (pictured), said he knew all about lead paint and abatement from his days working for the Housing Authority of New Haven. This day he was in the store buying paint for his own house in Beaver Hill.

Kowalski said financial help is available to homeowners to do the work.

"In the HUD lead hazard control program, we currently have close to a million dollars to move out the door to private property owners for the abatement of their lead-based paint." To find out more, call the health department at 946-8174.