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WUWM's Susan Bence reports on Wisconsin environmental issues.

Paint Companies Must Pay $6 Million In Lead Case For Poisoning Three Milwaukee Children

Emily Files
The U.S. banned the sale of lead paint in 1978, but Milwaukee is one of many cities with old housing stock where the paint is still found.

In what's being called the first verdict of its kind, a federal jury Friday awarded $2 million each to three young Milwaukee men who suffered severe lead contamination.

The plaintiffs range in age from 18 to 28, but the poisoning occurred when they were toddlers. They ingested lead paint and today the men have trouble with reading comprehension, their lawyer says.

Young children are especially susceptible to lead poisoning because their brains are still developing.

READ: What Milwaukee's Lead Problem Means For Children

The U.S. banned the sale of lead paint in 1978. However, Milwaukee is one of many cities with old housing stock where the paint is still found.

The federal jury that awarded the multi-million dollar judgment found that three paint manufacturers — Sherwin-Williams, DuPont and Armstrong Containers — failed to properly warn families about the danger of lead paint

An attorney for Sherwin-Williams says the company will appeal.

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Susan is WUWM's environmental reporter.
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