The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Who Put Lead Paint in U.S. Buildings?

Aug 20, 2007

After the great Mattel recall story hit the news, the Washington D.C. district attorney’s office finished filing a dozen cases against landlords who had lead paint problems. In 2006, doctors had found high levels of lead in the blood of about 300 children in Washington D.C.

Lead paint was banned for use in houses in this country in 1978, but owners and landlords were not forced to remove what already existed in older buildings.

So in one city, thirty years after the law was passed, there are still buildings covered in lead paint, still young children who will be damaged all their lives.

Throughout the country, an estimated 350,000 children have elevated and dangerous levels of lead in their blood, according to the Center for Disease Control.

China didn’t poison these children. U.S. capitalism did.