New Orleans plans to revamp the commission that oversees city parks and playgrounds and is seeking $5 million in federal aid after an investigation published by Verite News and KFF Health News found high levels of lead contamination in playgrounds throughout the city.
Mayor Helena Moreno signed an executive order on April 7 that creates a task force to improve the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission. One of the task force’s duties will be to “consider and make recommendations regarding the costs and practicalities of implementing a program to assess and remediate safety and environmental concerns at NORDC facilities and playgrounds, including the existence of lead in soil” and other environmental issues, according to the order.
About a week before Moreno signed that order, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Jennifer Avegno announced that city officials were working with the state’s congressional delegation to request $5 million in federal funds for the federal fiscal year that starts in October. That money would go toward testing and the possible cleanup of playgrounds with elevated levels of lead. She said her office is also reviewing past city records, working with the city’s in-house experts in its Planning Commission’s Brownfield Program, and reviewing Verite’s soil test results.
“We’re trying to figure out, with whatever pots of money we can get, how can we make a more sustained and meaningful impact than we have been able to in the past?” Avegno said during an April 1 panel discussion of Verite’s lead contamination investigation.
In the investigation published in February, Verite reporters tested more than 80 playgrounds for lead and documented unsafe levels of the toxic metal at just over half of them. Since then, parents across the city have called the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, their elected officials, and other city offices seeking action.
But with the city in the midst of a budget crisis, parents and community groups in one neighborhood are taking action themselves. They are trying to raise $8,000 to hire a contractor to do extensive testing in the Bywater neighborhood’s Mickey Markey Playground, where Verite recorded lead samples that exceeded the federal hazard level of 200 parts per million — one sample registered at 403 parts per million.
“I’m aware of the city budget issues right now, and I’m also aware that fixing one playground in one neighborhood might not be a giant priority,” said Devin DeWulf, a father of two who lives in Bywater and founded the Krewe of Red Beans, a community organization helping with the fundraising.
Lead contamination persists in New Orleans soil, older buildings, and drinking water, posing a significant public health threat to children. Children under 6 can absorb the toxic metal more easily than adults, contaminating their blood and harming the long-term development of their brains and nervous systems.
There is no known safe exposure level for children or adults. In children, even trace amounts can result in behavioral problems and lower cognitive abilities. Chronic lead exposure for adults can increase the risk of heart problems and other health issues.
Beyond the effects on a single child or family, Avegno said, lead exposure has long-term implications, including its potential link to increases in violent crime, which makes the issue even more critical.
“We knew we had to exhaust every avenue,” she said.
Due to low rates of testing, it’s unclear how many children across New Orleans are exposed to lead. In 2023, just 17% of children were tested for lead poisoning in New Orleans, despite a state law that requires medical providers to test all children by age 1 and again by 2. Currently, the state Department of Health doesn’t have a mechanism for enforcing the law.
Public health researchers recommend parents avoid playgrounds with lead contamination because it can be difficult to prevent young children from placing dirt in their mouths or breathing in dust kicked up during play.
Vann Joines, a Bywater neighborhood resident who often takes his 2-year-old daughter to Mickey Markey Playground, is part of the group raising money to independently test the playground.
“It’s really important for us to be exceedingly mindful at public playgrounds and at public parks,” Joines said.
DeWulf and Joines said they anticipate the work will take a few years and hope to create a playbook that other neighborhoods can follow for their own playgrounds.
“We could create a how-to guide on how we could effectively do this in partnerships in the city,” Joines said.
On top of the $5 million the city is requesting for soil testing and possible remediation, Avegno said the city planned to apply for a grant to help address lead at early childhood education centers.
“Your story was amazing timing,” she told a Verite reporter.