Eighty percent of the homes in Grand Rapids were built before 1978 and, as a result, the people who live inside them might be at high risk for lead poisoning.The staggering statistic was presented by Dr. William Bush, pediatrician-in-chief at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, to the Kent County Lead Task Force during a meeting Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Kent County Administrative Building. Mlive reports, the task force was formed last September after Kent County was listed among the areas of the state with the highest number of children exhibiting elevated blood lead levels.For Kent County, the top cause of lead poisoning is contact with paint inside older homes. Lead was banned in paint in 1978.Members agreed that proper education, more thorough testing and other preventative measures are worth considering, especially in children living within the zip code identified as more susceptible.