Proposed
FY 2007 Federal Budget Underfunds Core Commitments to Healthy Homes
The Bush Administration’s proposed FY 2007 budget
falls short of protecting vulnerable people from unhealthy conditions in their
homes, underfunding the key programs at HUD, EPA, HHS, DOE, and CDC that address
lead poisoning prevention, asthma management, and other important healthy homes
issues.
Among the initiatives that receive less money than necessary
to be effective is EPA’s proposed remodeling and renovation rule. The
Administration has proposed spending only $570,000 to begin implementation of
the rule during FY07, far short of the money that will be needed to lay the
groundwork for outreach, education, capacity-building, and enforcement.
HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control
is targeted for large cuts. The office, funded at $152 million in FY06, would
receive just $115 million under the administration’s budget request. Cuts
in the office would come primarily through discontinuation of the High Lead
Areas Removal Initiative, a Congressional priority to help families in cities
that face the biggest lead hazard threats, as well as a $3 million reduction
in funding for technical assistance.
The budget also calls for a $91 million cut (29 percent)
to DOE’s weatherization programs, at a time when energy costs are rapidly
rising and show no sign of coming down in the foreseeable future.
CDC’s environmental health priorities, including
its asthma and lead poisoning prevention programs, are also recommended for
cuts in the FY07 budget request. Though not slated for deep cuts, the lead poisoning
prevention program needs at least another $15 million on top of what is proposed
to adequately address lead poisoning in the ten cities it sees as having the
worst lead poisoning problems, and to make continued progress toward the federally-mandated
goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2010.
The budget scheme also guts core programs such as Medicaid
and Community Development Block Grants, key threads of the safety net supporting
basic health care and decent housing for the nation’s most vulnerable
populations.
Rhode
Island Judge Rules State Lead Law Unconstitutional
On January 10, a state court judge in Rhode Island ruled
that the state’s lead hazard control law, passed in 2002, violates the
Rhode Island constitution. Judge Stephen J. Fortunato, Jr., stated in his opinion
that the law’s exemption of two- and three-unit owner-occupied rental
properties violates the state’s equal protection clause, and that the
state had no rational basis for the exclusion.
The ruling is a result of a lawsuit filed by a coalition
of landlords who argued that the law must apply to all rental properties equally.
The state argued that there was a rationale behind the legislature’s decision
to exempt two- and three-unit owner occupied residences, stating that small
rental properties in which owners actually live are far less likely to have
deteriorated conditions than larger buildings owned by absentee landlords. Fortunato,
however, said that the state did not have the data to back up its assertions
and sided with the landlords.
Despite his finding of unconstitutionality, Fortunato did
not strike down the law or stop its implementation. Instead, he said that he
was giving the legislature a chance to fix what he sees as the law’s problems
before taking additional action. Advocates have said that while they’re
glad that the judge didn’t stop the law in its tracks, they’re very
concerned about the now-uncertain future of the law.
The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office said it
would await word from the legislature before deciding whether to appeal the
decision.
Rhode Island
Case Against Lead Pigment Companies in Hands of Jury
The State of Rhode Island's case against four lead pigment
companies headed to the jury on February 10. Prior to closing arguments, after
numerous motions from the defense, Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein
ruled to forbid the state from introducing evidence regarding how much money
Rhode Island has already spent responding to lead poisoning and lead hazards,
and on February 7 said the state cannot ask for damages to pay for expenses
it has already incurred.
On February 8 and 9, both the lead pigment manufacturers
and the state presented their closing arguments. The defense continued to insist
that the state had not met its burden of proof, going so far as to say, "The
defendants believe there is no case here." The state countered by arguing
that it has presented ample evidence that products manufactured and aggressively
marketed by lead paint companies posed a known risk to humans and that deteriorated
lead-based paint found in homes throughout Rhode Island now poses a public nuisance.
There is no word as to when the jury might return its verdict.
For more information on state and local government lawsuits against the lead
pigment industry, visitwww.afhh.org/aa/aa_legal_remedies_lawsuits.htm.
Targeted
Comments Encouraged on EPA Remodeling and Renovation Rule
EPA’s renovation and remodeling rule has been published
for comment at www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.
Among the topics for which EPA has requested comment are peer-reviewed studies
or data about the ill effects of renovations. The Alliance encourages the parents
of children who were lead-poisoned as a result of renovation work conducted
by paid contractors in pre-1978 homes to comment to EPA about those experiences
at an upcoming hearing or in the docket. Though comments are not due until April
10, early submissions are strongly encouraged. For more information, contact
Brian Gumm at bgumm@afhh.org
or 202-543-1147.
EPA Issues
Final Rule on Testing Pesticides on Humans
On January 26, the EPA issued its final rule on using data
from studies that test pesticides on humans. The new rule prohibits the intentional
dosing of pesticides on infants, children, and pregnant women, but it does provide
loopholes that will still allow data from other types of studies that could
involve these vulnerable populations.
EPA says that the rule “provides far-reaching protections
for all Americans and bans pesticide testing on pregnant women and children.”
However, environmental organizations and some members of Congress assert that
loopholes in the rule will still allow some pesticide tests on children and
pregnant women if EPA determines that it needs the information to “protect
public health.” Advocates also said that under additional “narrowly
defined circumstances,” such as certain tests conducted outside of the
United States, EPA could also accept data from pesticide tests involving children.
EPA disputes that claim.
House
Bill Addresses Environmental Justice Concerns in Hurricane Recovery
A hurricane recovery bill authored by U.S. Representative
Mel Watt (D-NC) and co-sponsored by other members of the Congressional Black
Caucus includes a section that deals with environmental justice concerns, especially
in the city of New Orleans. The bill is known as the Hurricane Katrina Recovery,
Reclamation, Restoration, Reconstruction, and Reunion Act of 2005, H.R. 4197.
The environmental justice section would require EPA to
develop a comprehensive environmental sampling and assessment plan, which the
agency would put together in cooperation with state officials. The plan would
include public health assessments, training of cleanup workers, a process for
allowing residents to return to their properties, compensation for those who
are unable to return to their properties because of environmental problems such
as rampant mold growth and extreme flood damage, and an independent review process
for all determinations of residential property habitability made under the plan.
The full text of the bill is available from http://thomas.loc.gov/.
Type HR 4197 into the “Search Bill Text” box, select the “Bill
Number” button, and click “Search.”
Alliance
to Begin Healthy Home Salvage and Rebuilding Training in New Orleans
Resources for rebuilding housing in lower income New Orleans-area
communities and others affected by Katrina and Rita’s floods and winds
have been meager to date, and most savable homes are continuing to sit empty
and further deteriorate. Without community action to jump-start safe re-occupancy
and rebuilding, the restoration of these homes and communities may be delayed
for years or may never happen at all. As residents and volunteers return in
greater numbers to reclaim flood-affected homes in the new year, training and
appropriate personal protective equipment are vitally needed to prevent exposure
of these workers to toxic substances that have been documented in the sludge
left in homes and yards by flooding and from astronomically high indoor mold
levels.
The Alliance, working in partnership with Gulf-area community,
housing development, and environmental organizations, has developed a scalable
approach to helping people and communities reclaim structurally sound housing
units. This approach has three major elements:
The cornerstone of our plan for healthy rebuilding is
to provide health and safety training and appropriate safety equipment to
local residents, volunteers, and contractors working to clean up and stabilize
homes. The Alliance recently secured initial funding to begin this training.
We also plan to provide ongoing technical assistance
to those who have been trained on safe clean-up and light renovation that
promotes the recovery of their communities.
We also plan to train and assist people from community-based
organizations, public health professionals, and local elected officials to
perform indoor environmental hazard assessments for lead and mold, and to
develop and execute strategies for mediating the hazards.
In addition, the Alliance is
working to engage with local health, housing and environmental organizations
to: create awareness and knowledge on how to mitigate environmental hazards
and take corrective future steps, especially given the racial and socioeconomic
health disparities; promote public policies that strengthen building and housing
codes and linkages between green buildings, health, and the environment; and
bridge the interests of housing and environmental groups to foster effective
collaboration and promote health considerations in housing rebuilding and repair
over the longer term.
Brookings
Publishes Monthly Post-Katrina Indicators Index
Starting in late 2005, The Brookings Institution began
publishing a monthly report on variables and indicators in post-Katrina reconstruction
along the Gulf Coast. The report tracks economic, social, rebuilding, and other
variables as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama seek to recover from the devastation
wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year.
Common
Household Pesticides May Increase Risk of Childhood Leukemia
Household insecticides used to spray houseplants, treat
garden pests, and eradicate head lice may double the risk of childhood leukemia,
according to French researchers. Published in the February 2006 issue of Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, the study correlated exposure to these chemicals
with increased risk of acute childhood leukemia.
Children whose mothers or landlords used common insecticides,
known as carbamates, in and around the home while pregnant and long after giving
birth were more than twice as likely to develop acute childhood leukemia than
those whose mothers or landlords kept the home insecticide-free.
Although the study does not establish a causal relationship
between household insecticides and the development of acute childhood leukemia,
its authors believe the strong correlation warrants immediate protective action
by parents and government alike. Some scientists disputed the suggestion that
carbamates alone could be a cause of increased risk of leukemia, instead positing
that exposure to the insecticides along with other toxic chemicals in the indoor
and outdoor environment, often called the “cocktail effect” or the
“toxic soup” theory, could be to blame. Such synergistic effects
remain very poorly understood because they are not often examined.
Nonpersistent
Insecticides May Lower Male Testosterone Levels
New research findings released in early January suggest
that so-called “short-lasting” insecticides used in and around the
home may reduce male fertility. The study, published in the January 2006 issue
of Epidemiology, focused on the effects of chlorpyrifos, an insecticide
commonly used against cockroaches and spiders in the home until 2000, when the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began to restrict its use due to evidence
that it caused damage to children’s central nervous systems and lower
birth weights.
The study linked chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate, and
its metabolite chemical, TCPY, to reduced levels of testosterone in men. Lower
testosterone levels often correlate with adverse reproductive health outcomes,
including infertility in men.
Despite the EPA phaseout, people are still exposed to chlorpyrifos,
often from illegal pesticide use or sales. The study noted that the Second National
Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals found that more than 90
percent of men had TCPY in their bodies.
The researchers who conducted the chlorpyrifos study previously
reported on levels of 1-napthol (1-N) in men’s urine and the damage that
chemical does to sperm concentration and DNA. 1-N is a metabolite of carbaryl,
a common lawn and garden insecticide.
Recent
Research Reinforces Danger of Low-level Lead Exposures
A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives
in late December 2005 adds to a growing body of scientific evidence that there
is no safe level of lead exposure for humans. The latest study focused on fetal
lead exposure through a mother’s blood.
The study found that even small amounts of the toxic heavy
metal can harm brain development of fetuses, and that lead exposure well below
the current CDC level of concern of 10 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL)
can have a long-term impact on children’s IQ, up to at least age 10. Researchers
said the findings are especially troubling because lead stored in the bones
during a woman’s childhood can be released into her bloodstream and passed
on to her unborn child during pregnancy.
Lead exposure during the early third trimester of pregnancy,
around the 28th week, seemed especially hazardous to the health of the fetus,
and increases in harm were most noticeable between one and six µg/dL.
Study co-author Dr. Stephen Rothenberg says the study shows that the only safe
level of lead exposure for pregnant woman and fetuses is “no exposure”
at all.
Industry
Pressuring EPA to Abandon No Safe Level of Lead Finding
Despite recent research showing that there is no safe level
of lead exposure for humans, industry groups are pressuring the EPA to abandon
a similar finding in a draft air quality document it released in December 2005,
according to InsideEPA.
The air quality document, part of EPA’s review of
its National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead, asserts that lead
can be harmful at extremely low levels. The document highlighted studies showing
that lead exposure causes harm in both children and adults at about one-tenth
of the level currently considered “acceptable.”
Industry representatives are disputing EPA’s finding,
as well as the findings of recent studies that examine the danger of low-level
lead exposures. Industry scientists claim that several unnamed past studies
indicate “no effects” when lead is present in blood at much higher
levels than those discussed by EPA. Environmentalists and public health experts
disagree with industry claims but faulted the draft NAAQS document for not drawing
clear connections between blood lead levels and lead in ambient air.
Massachusetts Carbon
Monoxide Detector Law Goes into Effect in March
In March, a new Massachusetts carbon monoxide detector
law goes into effect, affecting most residential property owners. The statute,
known as Nicole’s Law, requires that all homes must have operable carbon
monoxide detectors if they have attached garages or if their furnaces or hot
water heaters burn natural gas, wood, coal, or heating oil.
The law was passed in response to the carbon monoxide death
of a seven-year-old Massachusetts girl in the winter of 2004-2005 in a home
without a detector.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas
produced by combustion devices. When combustion devices in the home are not
properly maintained and vented to the outside, they can cause carbon monoxide
to build up to dangerous levels. Moderate carbon monoxide poisoning can cause
headaches, nausea, and dizziness, while severe cases result in coma or death.
Chronic, low-level carbon monoxide exposure is believed to cause neurological
damage.
New Study
Shows Carbon Monoxide Poisoning May Permanently Damage Heart
A new study published in the January 25 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association reinforces previous evidence that carbon
monoxide poisoning can cause permanent heart damage, even if patients survive
the acute poisoning stage without obvious health effects. Some 37 percent of
patients studied who were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning had heart muscle
damage caused by the gas, according to researchers.
Symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and neurological
damage have long been associated with carbon monoxide, but until recently, heart
damage was not considered a common result of acute poisoning. This and other
studies show otherwise, according to lead author Dr. Timothy Henry of the Minnesota
Heart Institute Foundation.
A majority of carbon monoxide poisoning is caused by accidental
inhalation of the gas, produced by malfunctioning and poorly maintained home
combustion devices such furnaces, water heaters, ovens, and space heaters powered
by natural gas, fuel oil, or propane. Residents and property owners can easily
avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by properly maintaining and providing proper
venting for all home combustion devices.
Research Suggests
Indoor Nitrogen Dioxide Levels can Worsen Childhood Asthma
A new study published in the February 1 issue of the American
Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows that moderate indoor
exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can cause a worsening of asthma
symptoms in some children with the disease. The association between indoor NO2
exposure and asthma symptoms was limited to children living in multi-family
housing.
NO2 is produced by natural gas-fired stoves.
Even at levels below EPA’s outdoor standard for the gas, exposed children
in multi-family housing exhibited asthma symptoms. The study found that NO2
exposure in multifamily housing raised the risk of wheezing and difficulty breathing
twofold in asthmatic children.
The study’s findings reinforce the need for rental
property owners to properly vent stoves and ovens. Proper kitchen ventilation
can significantly reduce concentrations of NO2, carbon monoxide,
and water vapor, and can help combat mold and bacteria growth spurred by excessive
moisture levels.
Wisconsin
Governor Vetoes Bill to Preserve Ruling in Lead Paint Case
In early January, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D) vetoed
a bill that would have counteracted a July 2005 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme
Court, which allows victims of lead poisoning to sue companies that formerly
manufactured lead pigments and that marketed and sold lead-based paint in the
state.
In vetoing the bill, Doyle said, “I cannot sign a
law that closes the doors of justice to children who have been poisoned [by
lead-based paint].” He went further, declaring that though Wisconsin has
made great progress in reducing childhood lead poisoning, the problem remains
substantial and ongoing.
Lawmakers who supported the bill criticized Doyle for allowing
Wisconsin’s risk-contribution theory to remain standing. The theory allows
victims to sue companies for injuries even if the victims don’t know exactly
which company or companies’ products created the actual harm. The legislators
claim that the theory allows manufacturers to be held liable for manufacturing
and selling products that might not have even harmed a specific plaintiff. The
legislators also asserted that Doyle had followed the state Supreme Court’s
lead in “throwing the doors wide open to out-of-state trial lawyers.”
Parents of lead-poisoned children and health advocates,
as well as victims’ rights attorneys, countered the legislators’
claims, stating that victims must still meet a high burden of proof in order
to prevail on the risk-contribution theory. A victim must show that he or she
ingested or inhaled dust laden with lead pigment, that he or she was harmed
by the lead pigment, that the company or companies being sued manufactured and
sold lead pigment in Wisconsin, and that the company or companies breached a
duty of care to the victim bringing the lawsuit. Advocates and attorneys said
that Doyle’s veto will allow victims who can meet the burden of proof
to hold former lead pigment companies accountable for the irresponsible behavior
of producing and selling a product that the companies knew to be harmful.
New York
City Budget Office Reports on Costs and Benefits of Lead Paint Law
The New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) released
in January a Fiscal Brief on the costs and benefits of the city’s recently
updated lead paint law, commonly known as Local Law 1 of 2004. The law made
more stringent the city’s rules on the inspection for and repair of lead-based
paint hazards. When the law was passed, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) and his
administration claimed that it would cost the city many millions of dollars
to enforce with “little in the way of proven benefits.”
Though the IBO said that it was too early to tell if Local
Law 1 of 2004 was having benefits such as more rapidly decreasing the number
and severity of childhood lead poisoning cases in the city, it did note that
the law has been effective in identifying lead-based paint violations, prompting
emergency repairs, and helping the housing department expand and improve the
operation of its code enforcement program.
Implementation costs for the law were much lower than those
predicted by the Bloomberg administration. Of the $74.6 million that the administration
budgeted for implementation in FY 2005, the city spent only $24.6 million. The
IBO reported that the city is on pace to spend roughly the same amount in FY06.
National
Healthy Homes Training Center and Network Announces Next Round of Trainings
The National Healthy Homes Training Center and Network
has announced eleven new offerings of its Essentials in Healthy Housing Practitioner
course. A listing of the courses and online registration are available at www.healthyhousing.org/training/.
The Training Center and Network are also making related
resources available. The course materials are located at www.healthyhomestraining.org/Practitioner/Materials.htm
and include six videos online, as well as the entire two-day course on CD-ROM
for those who are interested. The Training Center’s website was also recently
enhanced and contains quizzes for several modules.
NIOSH Completes
Lead-Safe Work Practices Report for Vermont Agency
In 1998, the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH) received a request from the Vermont Housing and Conservation
Board to evaluate worker exposure to lead-contaminated dust and lead dust dispersion
during lead paint removal. Though NIOSH previously sent the Vermont agency the
sampling results from its study, it decided to release a follow-up report and
a one-page fact sheet on its findings.
NIOSH found that lead dust levels were high during dry
scraping and power sanding when sanders were not fitted with proper, functional
HEPA vacuums. In contrast, wet scraping and HEPA-vacuum fitted power sanding
systems resulted in low lead dust exposure to workers and a low level of lead
dust dispersion in the home.
The report recommends that the Vermont Housing and Conservation
Board, as well as other similar state and local agencies, suggest wet scraping
and manual sanding wherever possible, require the use of HEPA vacuums if power
sanding is a must, require respirators for all paint removal workers, and protect
outdoor surfaces using plastic sheeting.
Copies of the fact sheet are available by calling 513-841-4252
and requesting HETA Report 98-0285-2989.
Asthma
Regional Council Releases Evaluation of its Healthy Homes Trainings
The Asthma Regional Council of New England (ARC) sponsored
a series of trainings called “Building Healthy and Affordable Housing”
throughout New England in Fall 2003 and Spring 2004. Some 265 participants learned
healthy homes building techniques that minimize the moisture, air quality, and
pest problems that can lead to poor building and respiratory health.
The comprehensive evaluation of the trainings consisted
of a two-part survey that solicited both quantitative and qualitative results,
administered prior to the training and immediately following the training. Participants
answered questions about how indoor environments affect resident health, the
types of indoor environmental problems that trigger asthma, and specific building
techniques and structural remedies that can correct these problems. ARC compared
pre- and post-training survey results to establish how successfully the training
communicated these concepts.
Evaluation analysis determined that the trainings changed
participant knowledge in a number of areas. The most significant changes occurred
in respondent recognition of asthma triggers. After the trainings, over 20 percent
more respondents answered explicitly that cockroaches, rats, and lack of heat
are asthma triggers when they did not do so before. In each training, increased
knowledge with respect to pests also mirrored increased understanding of how
to address pest problems. Following the trainings, respondents were more likely
to cite specific and more varied remedies to pest problems than they were prior
to the trainings.
Respondents also gave individual trainers high ratings,
and the trainings were very well received. The success of the trainings sparked
similar trainings throughout the region, laying the foundation for a network
of support for sustainable efforts for healthy homes promotion and advocacy
in New England. For a more detailed discussion of evaluation results, visit
the ARC website at www.asthmaregionalcouncil.org,
or contact Stacey Roberts at sroberts@tmfnet.org
or 617-451-0049 ext. 512, or Ellen Tohn at etohn@comcast.net
or 508-358-7770.
Upcoming Conferences
The Lead and Healthy Homes National Conference and the
Indoor Environmental Health & Technologies Conference will be held March
28-31 in Charleston, SC. This conference will consist of two tracks, one focused
on prevention of childhood lead poisoning, the other on addressing other indoor
environmental health hazards including mold. For more information on the program
tracks and other conference details, visit www.leadmoldconferences.com.
The National Conference on Asthma and Lead Poisoning will
be held May 22-24 in Saginaw, MI. The conference will feature a variety of topics,
including residential asthma triggers, best practices to minimize housing-related
risk factors for asthma and lead poisoning, low-literacy community-based intervention
methods, bilingual intervention programs, healthy homes initiatives, and more.
The conference is designed for healthy homes advocates,
public health officials, academics, federal and state legislative staff, and
representatives from funders with an interest in lead poisoning and asthma.
A complimentary pre-conference event on May 21 will take attendees to nearby
historic Frankenmuth, MI, for sightseeing, shopping, and dinner. For more information,
visit www.fni.org/leadandasthma.asp.
The Ohio Department of Health is sponsoring its 13th
Ohio Lead Poisoning Prevention Conference June 20-22 in Columbus. The featured
speakers and exhibitors will be from local, state, and national levels. The
conference goal is to educate healthcare and environmental professionals, parents,
and community leaders about the current medical, environmental, and programmatic
issues of childhood lead poisoning prevention in Ohio. Continuing education
units may be offered for nurses, sanitarians, and social workers. For more information,
E-mail bcfhs@odh.ohio.gov
or call Barbara Kochli Nixon at 937-285-6261.
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