Trenton urges testing for children at lead contaminated school

The City of Trenton wants to, quite literally, get the lead out.

Out of its parks. Out of people's homes. Out of its schools.

And, to step up that effort, officials have announced the next step they are taking -- offering testing for kids who might have been exposed to the poisonous chemical.

In January, the federal government stepped in to start finding elevated levels of lead around Trenton. And, in April, the city responded to those findings by closing parts of three parks in order to deal with the issue.

Now – officials have shifted their focus to testing 600 students from one school that, city officials said, has been contaminated.

“Then they put padding down, they’re putting mulch down and laying blacktop over top of it," said Melanie Bajek, parent of a student at Grant Intermediate School in Trenton. "But I don’t know how that’s going to help –they didn’t say how it’s going to prevent the lead from seeping up in the ground again.”

Bajek said that she is worried that the work being done to remove led from her son's school might not be enough to ensure that he is healthy.

He's one of the 600 students at Grant Intermediate School that city officials are urging to get tested for lead exposure after the EPA found high levels in the lead in the area.

“I just think if something happens to our kids at any point, they’re going to try to say that the exposure happened at home instead of at the school," said Bajek.

Officials have told NBC10 that people can get their homes tested for free, and if high levels of lead are found there, the city's health department will begin the process of removing it.

It's an effort that Trenton's mayor, Reed Gusciora, pushed in a speech on Tuesday.

“We’re testing people’s yards, we’re testing schools, we’re testing parks," Gusciora said. “But also, we have these old homes that have lead-based paints on the walls. Kids get serious, they put the chips of the paint in their mouths.”

He said that employees of the city's health department will be walking door-to-door throughout the city's North Ward section to offer parents free testing for kids who go to Grant Intermediate School

“Take a look at the shirt. We all are going to be coordinated with these shirts," the mayor said, sharing a look at an employee's outfit. "So that they know that we are the folks that are coming to knock the doors for lead.”

On April, the city closed off grass areas at Sony Vereen Playground, Breunig Avenue Park and Grant Avenue Playground after the EPA found high levels of lead in the soil at these locations.

“Lead poisoning is irreversible. So we are trying to do all that we can before we get to that point," said Yvette Graffie-Cooper, Trenton's Public Health Officer.

Officials blame Trenton's century-old history with pottery factories that used lead paint as a big part of the reason high-levels of lead can still be found in soil throughout the city. And, officials said, they can't change the past, but they want to work to ensure that they can make the environment safer for the next generation.

“My kids are going to a different school next year because I don’t like what goes on—it’s a quick fix and our kids are the ones suffering at the end of the day because they’re the ones being exposed to it," said Bajek.

Darlene McKnight Elementary school was also tested by the EPA and there were no high levels of lead found there.

However, officials said, the overall process of getting the lead out of Trenton could take years.