The Penwell Family
Mrs. Penwell had two active, happy two-year old twins in 1994. The Penwell’s were living in North Lima, Ohio, when in June of that year they were diagnosed with lead poisoning. The twins went to the Pediatric Clinic for a routine examination where they, fortunately, have mandatory lead screenings. Their mother was in a panic when she found out: “I cried, denied, blamed myself, like I was a horrible mother, ignorant and uninformed” she recalls.
The Penwell house was inspected to determine the source of the lead contamination. The front porch had lead based paint on it. The twins had spent many hours playing on this porch, while their parents were unaware that they were breathing and ingesting a potentially lethal substance.
After the diagnosis, Mrs. Penwell began to notice the obvious signs of lead poisoning. The twins were hyperactive, had short attention spans, and as she described it one of the twins would become “mean and have a poor appetite.” Even though the twins were exposed to the same amount of lead contamination, one of the girls had significantly higher blood lead levels.
In the wake of the diagnosis the family went through a tremendously stressful time. Mrs. Penwell had a hard time accepting the situation, she felt guilty, she wanted someone else to blame, and this produced a significant strain on the marriage. But with support and supervision from their local Health Department they began to learn more about the problem of lead poisoning and how to avoid further exposures. Understanding the causes and effects of the lead contamination and how to prevent it helped the family heal emotionally and move ahead.
Changes had to be made to the Penwell house; first they painted the porch so that they could have a lead-safe entrance to the house. Later they covered the whole house with new aluminum siding. This approach was a way to contain the lead dust, which might result from chipping paint on the exterior of the house. In Mrs. Penwell’s words “The highest point of all is that now we have a better insulated house and new windows.”
But the lead poisoning is still effecting the family, even several years after their initial diagnosis. The girls, especially the twin with the higher blood lead levels still show damaging effects from the lead exposure. She had to be held back in school because of speech problems, a short attention span, and not being able to grasp basic concepts. She is underdeveloped in relation to her twin: two inches shorter and ten pounds lighter. But her mother is optimistic: “Hopefully, with diet and prevention we will come out of this.”
The Penwell’s have paid a high price to learn that lead poisoning is not a “solved problem” of the past. Mrs. Penwell wishes parents could know as much as she foes about lead poisoning and its prevention, without having to go through the pain, suffering, and guilt that she and her family experienced. She thinks information about this threat is basic to controlling it. “Parents’, she remarks, ’have to know that their children between birth and six-years old must be lead tested every six months.” She also emphasizes that the governmental authorities have to be determined to deal with the problem. Ignoring it is not going to make it disappear. “We need help” she states.