Fourteen Patterson High School juniors and seniors have blown the whistle on 18 landlords in Northwest Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood who have not registered their property with the state for lead-paint testing as required for homes built before 1950.

The high school students worked on a lead-paint poisoning project with six University of Maryland law students as part of a national youth leadership and advocacy program affiliated with the law school. The students presented their findings Wednesday to university staff and parents at the law school.

The high school and law students also rewrote a pamphlet on the dangers of lead poisoning and laws related to the issue that will be distributed by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

In recent years, under the Community Law In Action program, Maryland law students have teamed with high school students to address societal problems such as identifying and addressing child abuse, and effecting the removal of pay telephones from some street corners troubled by drug activity.

The charge this time for the group was to investigate whether property owners in the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Keyworth Ave. in Park Heights were complying with state lead-paint guidelines. Park Heights has been recognized by the city and state as one of Maryland's worst areas for children contracting lead-paint poisoning.

The students reviewed 24 Keyworth Avenue properties and checked those addresses against records kept by the Department of the Environment, said law student Holly Winter.

Of the 18 found not in compliance with registration requirements, seven owners are making efforts to come into compliance, and the Department of the Environment is considering enforcement action against the others, Winter said.