March 31, 2005

Honorable Stephen Johnson
Acting Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Johnson:

We, the undersigned organizations and individuals concerned about children in high-risk communities across the country, write to object to EPA’s apparent decision to not fulfill the 1992 Congressional mandate to establish requirements for the conduct of renovation and remodeling activities that disturb lead-based paint.

Childhood lead poisoning remains a serious threat to the healthy development and school success of American children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 434,000 preschoolers have elevated blood lead levels, even as growing scientific evidence documents lead’s adverse effects on children’s brain development at far lower levels. The disparities in the burden of this disease make childhood lead poisoning a compelling environmental justice issue: low-income children are at eight times higher risk than children from upper income families; African-American children are at five times higher risk than white children.

As the federal strategy to eliminate childhood lead poisoning makes clear, most children are poisoned by lead-based paint and dust hazards in their homes. According to HUD’s national survey, more than 25 million homes – fully one-quarter of the entire US housing stock – have “significant lead hazards.” Experts and practitioners now agree that lead-safe work practices (LSWP) for paint repair and remodeling activities are an integral part of the national prevention equation.

In its 1992 landmark legislation to prevent childhood lead poisoning, Congress gave EPA a clear mandate to issue rules for lead safety in remodeling and renovation by 1996, and granted the Agency discretion and flexibility to tailor requirements based on risk. The Agency’s failure to clarify what safeguards should apply to remodeling and renovation activities has led to widespread confusion. Now, EPA has apparently abandoned its duty, under Section 402(c) of Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to establish requirements for the conduct of renovation and remodeling activities that disturb lead-based paint, and has also failed to pursue meaningful alternatives that could otherwise make lead-safe work practices the national norm.

Instead, the Agency planned a purely voluntary program to motivate 200-300 renovators and remodelers within an industry composed of more than 250,000 businesses, which was unlikely to benefit highest risk properties and held little promise of institutionalizing lead-safe work practices. To make matters worse, this voluntary program was never funded, another casualty of the deep cuts EPA has made in funding for lead poisoning prevention.

Persons performing work that repairs or disturbs lead-based paint in poorly maintained rental housing properties, including millions of unsubsidized affordable housing units, will not be reached by the voluntary initiative. They need clear direction and strong incentives to control, contain, and clean up lead dust. The federal responsibilities include serious capacity building and enforcement as necessary to make this a reality.

This inaction on remodeling and renovation rulemaking contradicts EPA’s professed commitment to targeting resources and attention to priority hazards and narrowing disparities in environmentally induced disease. The Alliance for Healthy Homes and the undersigned individuals call upon EPA to redress this egregious failure by providing effective leadership towards the national goal of ending childhood lead poisoning by 2010. Specifically, we call upon EPA to take the following actions:

• Provide meaningful leadership to make lead-safe work practices the national norm by proposing a results-oriented rule addressing lead-safety in remodeling and renovation by October 1, 2005. Elements should include requiring renovation and remodeling contractors who have not completed an approved lead safe work practices training course by a date certain to become certified abatement supervisors; specifying risk factors that would require post-work dust testing; and building capacity for effective training in clearance and LSWP.
• Provide leadership by the end of this calendar year to update universal housing codes to recognize the dangers of lead dust and incorporate lead-safe work practices in paint repair activities in older housing.
• Request an additional $20 million in FY2006 to protect children at highest risk for lead-based paint hazards in their homes through expanded training, technical assistance, and targeted enforcement – and maintain this annual funding level until the national goal of ending childhood lead poisoning is achieved.

We ask for your personal commitment to ensure that EPA fulfills these steps. Without stronger leadership from EPA, the 2010 goal of protecting all children from lead poisoning will be impossible to meet.

A delegation of our group urgently requests a meeting with you to discuss these matters. Please contact Don Ryan, Executive Director of the Alliance for Healthy Homes, 202-543-1147, to coordinate this meeting.

Sincerely,

National Organizations

• African American Environmentalist Association
• Alliance for Healthy Homes
• American Association on Mental Retardation
• American Community Partnerships, Inc.
• American Public Health Association
• The Arc of the United States
• Coalition for Environmentally Safe Communities
• Environmental Defense
• Healthy Schools Network, Inc.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials
• National Center for Healthy Housing
• National Health Law Program
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
• U.S. Public Interest Research Group
• Voices of Children Affected by Lead (VOCAL)

Regional, State & Local Organizations

• 9/11 Environmental Action, New York, NY
• ADS Ventures, Inc., Boston, MA
• Arc BRIDGES, Inc., Gary, IN
• The Arc of Anne Arundel County, Annapolis, MD
• The Arc of Denver, Denver, CO
• The Arc of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN
• The Arc of Massachusetts, Waltham, MA
• The Arc of New Jersey, North Brunswick, NJ
• The Arc of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC
• The Arc of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• The Ashkin Group, LLC, Bloomington, IN
• Bowdoin Street Health Center, Dorchester, MA
• California Communities Against Toxics, Rosamond, CA
• Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, San Francisco, CA
• Childhood Lead Action Project, Providence, RI
• Cincinnati Area Lead Advisory Committee, Cincinnati, OH
• Citizens Lead Education and Poison Prevention Organization, Birmingham, AL
• Cleveland Communities Organized Against Lead, Cleveland, OH
• Cleveland Tenants Organization, Cleveland, OH
• Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, Baltimore, MD
• Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning, Rochester, NY
• Community Resources, Baltimore, MD
• Connecticut Citizens Research Group, Hartford, CT
• Connecticut Parents United for a Lead Safe Environment, Hartford, CT
• Delta Projects, Inc., Needham, MA
• Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, Durham, NC
• Empower Lewiston, Lewiston, ME
• Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS, Canada
• Environmental Health Coalition, National City, CA
• Environmental Health Research Laboratory, St. Louis, MO
• Environmental Health Strategy Center, Portland, ME
• Environmental Health Watch, Cleveland, OH
• Environmental Toxicology Programs, Health Services, Oregon Department of Human Services, Portland, OR
• ERT Associates, Wayland, MA
• Eviction Defense Network, Los Angeles, CA
• Get the Lead Out! Coalition, Grand Rapids MI
• Greensboro Housing Coalition, Greensboro, NC
• Group 14621 Community Association, Rochester, NY
• Healthy Children Organizing Project, San Francisco, CA
• HomeSafe Environmental, Loma Linda, CA
• Improving Kids’ Environment, Indianapolis, IN
• Illinois Lead-Safe Housing Task Force, Chicago, IL
• Inner City Law Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Isles, Inc., Trenton, NJ
• Josiah Hill, III Clinic, Portland, OR
• Kanji & Katzen, PLLC, Ann Arbor, MI
• Kent County Health Department, Grand Rapids, MI
• Law Office of Maria E. Hall, Los Angeles, CA
• Law Offices of Larry A. Jones, Seattle WA
• The Lead Detective Agency, Sacramento, CA
• Lawndale Christian Health Center, Chicago, IL
• Leadtec Services, Inc., Baltimore, MD
• Learning Disabilities Association of Maine, Searsmont, ME
• Lighthouse Communities, Grand Rapids MI
• Livingston-Wyoming Arc, Mt. Morris, NY
• Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry Advocacy Taskforce, Cleveland, OH
• Maine Lead Action Project, Portland, ME
• Maine State Housing Authority, Augusta, ME
• Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, Washington, DC
• Michigan League for Human Services, Lansing, MI
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivity-GLOBAL, Australia
• New Jersey Citizen Action, Highland Park, NJ
• Occupational Knowledge International, San Francisco, CA
• Organization of the New Eastside, Indianapolis, IN
• Partnership Effort for the Advancement of Children's Health (PEACH), North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
• Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth, Philadelphia, PA
• Physicians for Social Responsibility—Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
• The Preschool Enrichment Team, Inc., Springfield, MA
• Project 504, Minneapolis, MN
• Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health Coalition, Portland, OR
• Public Justice Center, Baltimore, MD
• Silver Valley Community Resource Center, Kellogg, ID
• Sister's Together Omaha Chapter, Omaha, NE
• Training and Educational Resources For Children, Chicago, IL
• United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Voices for Illinois Children, Chicago, IL
• Valley Watch, Inc., Evansville, IN
• Westside Health Authority, Chicago, IL
• Your Life Matters, Inc., Windsor, ON, Canada

Individuals (affiliations listed for identification purposes only)

• Megan Amundson, Policy Analyst, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
• Patti Ashland, MSN, RNC, Montville, ME
• Deborah Elaine Barrie, Publisher of www.noccawood.ca, Smiths Falls, ON, Canada
• Yvette Bedard, Department of Economic and Community Development, Lewiston, ME
• Helen Binns, MD, MPH, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Practice Research Group, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
• David D Blaney, MD, MPH, Environmental Health Epidemiology, GA Division of
  Public Health, Atlanta, GA
• Janet Bonet, Resident living in the Omaha Lead Superfund Site, Member of the Omaha Lead Superfund Site Community Advisory Group, Secretary of Spring Lake Neighborhood Association, Omaha, NE
• Jill Breysse, National Center for Healthy Housing, Columbia, MD
• David N. Broadbent, MD, MPH, FACPM, FAAP, Rochester, NY
• Kim C. Brown, Mt.Pleasant, MI
• Willena Cannon, Greensboro Housing Coalition, Greensboro, NC
• Dot Christenson, Chair, Cincinnati Area Lead Advisory Committee, Cincinnati, OH
• Dorr G. Dearborn, Ph.D.,M.D., Mary Ann Swetland Professor of Environmental Health
  Sciences, Director, Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health, Professor of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH
• Roy Clark, Alameda, CA
• Michael R.Dillon, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Special Education, Dowling College,
  Oakdale, NY
• Sherry Dixon, Woodstock, MD
• Kathleen Fagan, MD, MPH, Community Health Partners, Occupational Health Clinic,
  Lorain, OH
• Scott Fitzpatrick, Anaconda, MT
• Sherri L. Garcia, Teacher, Sumner County, TN
• Suzanne M Gaynor, DrPH, RN, MBA, Washington, DC
• Lynn R. Goldman, Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
  Baltimore, MD
• Melissa Guerrero, South Gate, CA
• Del. James Hubbard, Maryland House of Delegates, District 23-A, Bowie, MD
• Dennis Jordan, CIH, Environmental Services Manager, Alameda County Lead Poisoning
  Prevention Program, Oakland, CA
• Gale A. Kirk, The Arc of the United States, The Arc of North Carolina, and The Arc of Stanly County, Richfield, NC
• Bruce Lanphear, M.D., M.P.H., Sloan Professor of Children's Environmental Health,
  Cincinnati Children's Environmental Health Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Carl Lawrence, Producer, GREENVISION (TV show), Brooklyn, NY
• Kara R. LeBeau, M.A., State Policy Analyst, NASDDDS, Alexandria, VA
• Jack K. Leiss, Ph.D., Cedar Grove, NC
• Patrick MacRoy, MA, Epidemiologist, Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago, IL
• Jacqueline W. McMorris, M.D., FAAP, Chair, D.C. Children with Special Health Care
  Needs Advisory Board, Washington, DC
• Wallace Oman, Esq., San Francisco, CA
• Kathleen Overr, Washington, DC
• Sean Palfrey, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, Boston University,
  Medical Director of the Boston Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Immediate Past President, Massachusetts Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, Boston, MA
• Bonita Poulin, Brockville, ON, Canada
• John Roberts, Sammamish, WA
• Florence Wagman Roisman, Michael McCormick Professor of Law, Indiana University
  School of Law, Indianapolis, IN
• Sandra J. Roseberry, parent of two lead-poisoned children, South Berwick, ME
• John F. Rosen, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, The
  Bronx, NY
• Donna Saskowski, Executive Director, Genesee County NYSARC, Batavia, NY
• Xanthi M. Scrimgeour, MHEd., CHES, Northampton, MA
• Cindy Singer, Board member of the Healthy Homes Network of Greater Kansas City
• Sherin S. Stahl, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist, Yale Lead Program, New Haven, CT
• Tenya Steele, New York, NY
• G. Wesley Stewart, Esq., Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, Baltimore, MD
• A Bridgid Sullivan, Chairperson of NYSARC’s Prevention Committee, Otsego County, NY
• Tim K. Takaro, MD, MPH, Seattle, WA
• Joann Tate (a.k.a. Buffy the Lead-Buster), Chicago, IL
• Deborah Tisdale, Baltimore, MD
• Joseph Z. Traub, Esq., Philadelphia, PA
• Dr. Keith F. Widaman, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychology, University
  of California at Davis, Davis, CA
• Stephen Wilson, MD, MSc, Children's Environmental Health Fellow, Lead Poisoning
  Clinic, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

State Attorneys General Letters
Illinois Attorney General letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson [PDF, 11K]
New York Attorney General letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson [PDF, 224K]

Congressional Letter
May 9, 2005 Letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson [PDF, 756K]

Press Coverage
Los Angeles Times, "EPA Puts Mandated Lead-Paint Rules on Hold," May 10, 2005 [Free registration required]