Baby has ‘delays’ from high blood lead levels, feds say. Landlord gets probation
A Pennsylvania landlord has been sentenced after a tenant accused him of not providing the family with a lead hazard pamphlet as required by federal law. This led to a young child developing high levels of lead in his body, prosecutors said.
Dennis Morgan, 75, previously owned two residential properties in Sunbury, where he failed to provide at least one of his tenants with a federally-approved lead paint hazard pamphlet, a sentencing memo and Department of Justice April 4 news release said.
Morgan’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
A family moved into one of Morgan’s properties in August 2017 with their 1-year-old baby boy, court documents said. Prior to moving into the residence, their young child’s blood lead levels were normal.
However, after a year at the home, his mother began to notice “behavioral changes and delays” in the young boy that concerned her, prosecutors said.
His blood lead levels were tested again, and were over 20 times higher than prior to living at the residence.
Most children have lead levels under 5 µg/dL The baby staying at a property owned by Morgan had a lead level of over 20 µg/dL, court documents showed.
Children under the age of 6 are “especially vulnerable to lead poisoning,” which can cause major health issues, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The child’s mother spoke with Morgan about the lack of lead warnings and testing in August 2018, but felt like her concerns weren’t taken seriously in meetings with Morgan and a local code enforcer who had a “friendly relationship” with Morgan, court documents said.
She then reached out to a Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tip line that launched an investigation into whether a federal law had been broken.
Now, investigators say Morgan failed to provide the lead informational pamphlet that is mandated under the Toxic Substances Control Act, a DOJ news release said.
“The defendant’s lack of responsibility to properly inform his tenants of the hazards of lead resulted in a child with elevated blood lead levels,” Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Lynn of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Pennsylvania said in the release. “Elevated blood levels can cause developmental problems in children.”
Morgan has been sentenced to one year of probation after pleading guilty to violating the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Sunbury is about 90 miles northwest of Allentown.
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