"BENTON HARBOR -- While inspecting a house for lead contamination, Steve Weldert came across a child's toy dump truck in a window sill filled with paint chips."

"Weldert, who was doing the inspection for the Berrien County Health Department, noticed that the child had been filling the truck with the potentially toxic paint flakes.

It is likely that the child, after touching the paint chips, later put his hands in his mouth, sending the damaging lead into the body, said Weldert, who has a master's degree in environmental toxicology.

Across Michigan and the country, this scenario is repeated often, creating a health hazard that affects thousands of lives and costs billions of dollars."

John Matuszak reports for the St. Joseph Herald Palladium August 25, 2013. [2]