5 takeaways from our investigation into Shelby County’s lead crisis

In spring 2023, MLK50 learned Memphis and Shelby County were remediating lead poisoning hazards from far fewer homes than they were pre-pandemic. In the following months, we educated ourselves on the causes and serious consequences of this reality.

We spoke to researchers across the world about the effects lead is still having on our county’s children, and we talked to the parents and grandparents of some of those children. Our hearts broke for these kids, most of whom ingested the neurotoxin from deteriorating lead paint in their homes or tap water. And we grew frustrated at the forces that allow so many lead hazards to persist in our community. 

Below are five quick takeaways from our 10 months of reporting. To read more about what we found, click here. 

Lead poisoning undermines Shelby County’s education efforts.

When kids ingest lead in early childhood, it can throw their brains off of their normal development track. 

The effects are usually moderate but long-lasting. Affected kids are somewhat more likely to struggle with self-control and learning — and have slightly lower IQs — than their peers.

These effects add up and rub off on classmates. One recent study found that the number of lead-poisoned children in any given school has a significant impact on whether their peers will be suspended, graduate from high school and attend college. In fact, having more lead-poisoned classmates appears to have greater effects on a student than having more low-income classmates. 

Lead is a public health crisis too many local doctors are ignoring.

While a kid’s brain is the primary concern when lead is ingested, it isn’t the only part of the body that can sustain damage. 

Studies have shown lead exposure can increase victims’ blood pressure, damage their kidneys and cause a variety of other issues. One recent study found that each little bit of extra lead in someone’s body — even at levels below the federal threshold — places them more in danger of suffering from cardiovascular disease. With cardiovascular disease being the country’s top cause of death, the study estimated the extra risk from lead causes 400,000 U.S. deaths each year.

However, many local pediatricians will conduct lead tests only if the parents request it or as part of TennCare’s required testing of 1- and 2-year-olds, according to Sharon Hyde, manager of the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative’s anti-lead efforts in Shelby County. Few children between the ages of 3 and 5 are tested, even though they’re still young enough for lead to significantly damage their brains. 

“The pediatricians still don’t really grasp the severity of it,” Hyde said.

Lead likely contributes to our high crime rate.

After dozens of studies, the experts MLK50 spoke with consider it clear: There’s a connection between lead pollution and increased crime rates. 

One recent study found that a moderate increase in a kid’s blood lead level corresponds with a 5% higher likelihood of committing a crime, and another one found exposures to lead place boys at an almost 60% higher probability of facing juvenile detention. 

While lead affects a child’s entire brain, it most damages the part responsible for impulse control and aggression. And with less self-control, lead poisoning victims end up more likely to commit violent crimes.

“It’s very well established that lead is a neurotoxin and affects …  a part of the brain that’s extremely important for behavior and things like impulse control,” said Kevin Schnepel, an economist studying crime at Canada’s Simon Fraser University. “When we think about violent crime in particular, oftentimes it is (being unable to control a) response to some sort of emotional cue or shock.” 

Lead’s risks aren’t being taken seriously enough by the public or local leaders.

Most Memphians are unaware of the threat lead paint poses to the city’s kids, according to local lead experts. This lack of awareness hamstrings their efforts to get homes tested for the toxin. 

“Nobody’s talking about it,” said Anita Tate, who runs the Shelby County Lead Hazard Control Program. 

Additionally, Tate has struggled to get local principals or public safety leaders to take seriously lead’s effects on education and crime. 

In 2022, she asked Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis if she’d considered the role that lead could be playing in the city’s crime problems. But Davis brushed the question off. 

Local government under-invests, despite the research.

Money spent protecting kids from lead quickly pays for itself through educational, health and public safety improvements, according to multiple cost-benefit studies. 

However, the City of Memphis and Shelby County invest little in their anti-lead efforts. The city and county lead paint remediation programs run exclusively off United States Department of Housing and Urban Development grants, with no local or state dollars. 

The two programs employ fewer than 10 people combined. The Shelby County Health Department has just four full-time employees committed to the issue, responsible for increasing testing among the county’s more than 70,000 kids under 6. 

Jacob Steimer is the housing and development reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism.

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