Where Are the Blueprint Components Focused?

This project will target Boston's high-risk communities that are burdened with the highest concentrations of elevated blood lead levels (Pb >10ug/dl) in children under 7 years old. These "Tier 1 Neighborhoods" were identified through a GIS mapping project that was conducted in the fall of 2001. They include: North and South Dorchester where 50% of the total cases in Boston reside, along with Roxbury, Hyde Park and Mattapan. Seventy percent of the cases come from these top five districts, which are also home to the most severe cases (Pb >20ug/dl). In Boston, childhood lead poisoning disproportionately affects our poor and minority communities. Although, the overall trend in lead poisoning has been going down, certain areas of the city (like Dorchester) have not been going down as quickly (between 1994 and 1999: a 50% drop for Boston, 44% drop for Dorchester). The National NAACP has expressed interest in childhood lead poisoning because of the national statistics indicating 16% of low-income and 21% of African-American children living in older housing have high blood lead levels.