Hennepin County, MN

Hennepin County received $275,000 through cooperative agreement EH21-2102 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2022. The funds address childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance programmatic activities being conducted from September 30, 2022 to September 29, 2023.

The strategies focus on community-based approaches for lead hazard elimination and emphasize population-based policy intervention.

To learn more about these efforts in Hennepin County, contact the program below.

Hennepin County
Housing and Economic Development
Funding assistance for lead hazards
701 4th Avenue S, Ste 700
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-543-4182

Success Story

Hennepin County Strengthens Coordination to Offer Families Access to Home Lead Testing

Challenge

In the suburban portion of Hennepin County, outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, families of children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) of 5–14.9 μg/dL received follow up from a public health nurse. However, full home lead inspections were generally completed only on homes of children with a BLL, confirmed by a venous blood sample, of 15 μg/dL or greater. When sources of lead exposure are not identified and eliminated or reduced after a high blood lead level is detected, a child’s BLL and associated health conditions may further increase.

Intervention

Hennepin County Department of Community Works (HCCW) partnered with the Hennepin County Public Health Department. Through this partnership, the two agencies strengthened coordination to increase affected families’ access to testing home items or sources of lead exposure and improve identification, data collection, and awareness of non-paint lead sources in the community. HCCW-trained risk assessors worked with public health nurses and existing laboratory and x‐ray fluorescence (XRF) equipment contracts to offer testing methods. These included identifying items that may be sources of lead exposure in the home, screening the items with on-site XRF, and sending item samples that are found to contain lead for final confirmatory lab testing. As pinpointing lead exposure sources can be more difficult at lower BLLs, the ability to screen homes of children with BLLs closer to 5 μg/dL was especially beneficial.

Impact

This intervention resulted in eight home inspections. In each home, sources of possible lead exposure were identified or ruled out. For one South Asian family whose child had a high blood lead level, gripe water and a powder were found to be the likely sources of lead exposure. For an African immigrant family whose U.S.-born child’s elevated BLL dropped after moving to Hennepin County but then slightly increased, spices and powders in the home were ruled out as sources. These results, along with subsequent BLL tests showing a steady decline in BLL, helped determine that exposure likely occurred before living in their current residence. For a family living in a 1970 apartment complex, lead-based paint, toys, utensils, powders, spices, and keys were screened. Only the keys were found to contain lead, and the parents recalled their child had chewed on the keys. Additionally, for a family living in an old farmhouse who did not qualify for a lead-based paint grant or other housing repair resources, risk assessors used XRF screening to guide the family on making the property lead-safe.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by [NUE2EH001407] from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.