Lead-based paint in houses leads to toxic dust that can affect the lives of people living in these conditions. There are identified deteriorating lead-based paint and lead dust as the main contributing environmental factor in about 90% of all childhood lead poisoning cases in Kent County.

Kent County Lead Task Force report published in January 2018 states: “Young children are most vulnerable to lead exposure. And the risk factors are cumulative and synergistic. Unfortunately, this means that lead poisoning is likely to have more impact on young children who also deal with poverty, racism, and other stressors.” - 2018 Kent County Lead Task Force report

There have been harsh consequences from lead poising. It is true that a majority of the measurable impacts of lead poisoning deal with IQ and academic performance, but lead poising is also associated with depression and mood disorders. This diagnosis profoundly impacts a child’s experience with life. It’s crucial to understand that beyond the documentation showing low IQ, school, or juvenile justice issues, a child's mental health is drastically affected and that is because of lead-based paint in houses.

"Food Justice" started out as a book that created a global movement lead by woman of color in the 1990's. The whole purpose of that book was to show people the benefits and the risks of where their food was coming from. In 2017 there was a survey done that showed that healthy food was harder to find in the lower income areas of Grand Rapids. GR neighborhoods with higher proportions of people of color experience food insecurity, poor air quality, higher toxins, and the least amount of healthy foods within their surroundings.

Food Justice does not just refer to where your food is coming from, it also refers to the working conditions and the wages for those in the food industry. Alot of those who work in the food industry do not recieve the food justice they deserve. Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, and here is how Grand Rapids Non-Profits are working towards change.

Our Kitchen Table (OKT) is working with lower income households to grow chemical free produce and inform them about healthier eating habits. They are creating farmer's markets and gardens in those communities to bring awareness to food insecurity. Baxter Community Center is growing produce in their greenhouses and providing resources to the neighbors to grow their own produce. The city of GR itself is working towards gardening projects and composting through the Neighborhood Match Fund.

Kent county has the highest average particulate air pollution in the state of Michigan, excluding Detroit. The chemicals found in the county include toxic dust, ground-level ozone, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. In addition, this has led to two different properties in the county having to be shut down. A good majority of the chemicals that were left behind were from a dry cleaning facility, as they spread through groundwater, etc. Considering that the air we breathe is of upmost importance to our health, this is a major concern for Kent County.

Analysis of communities with similiar issues resulted in examples of what's called Environmental Injustice. These issues are occuring in neighborhoods with high percentages with people of color that lack the support and effort from other neighborhoods and business that can help find a solution. Revitalizing neighborhoods is needed in order to focus and fix the problem instead of attracting outside appearances.

Some solutions me and my classmates went over and talked about were, when lead is found in blood of children, call and send immediate support to their residence. We also talked about how you can replace doors and windows that have lead on them along with a filtering water system. You can also reduce the lead in your house by cleaning dusty surfaces and objects while also keeping the house well-maintained.

Solutions you can have to have better air quality is Changing AC filters and using cooking vents whenever you are cooking something on/in the oven. You can also dust of your ceiling fans and also buy indoor plants to freshen the air and have a better smell in the house. Use safe cleaning products as well and have a reasonable temperature in the house to keep the air from getting to hot inside.