The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed
a lead-safe remodeling and renovation rule on December 29, 2005, after years
of discussions with stakeholders and six months of pointed advocacy by Congress
and numerous other advocates.
The proposed rule would apply to all remodeling and renovation
work conducted in housing built before 1978. As proposed, EPA would use a two-phased
approach, with the first phase focusing on rental and owner-occupied housing
built before 1978 where a child has an elevated blood lead level, in rental
housing built before 1960, and in owner-occupied housing where children age
six live. The second phase of implementation would bring in rental housing built
between 1960 and 1978, as well as owner-occupied housing built during that time
period where a child under six resides.
The rule would require that all renovators be trained in
lead-safe work practices and that they follow practices such as occupant protection,
containment, and post-work cleaning in all renovation and remodeling work. Workers
and firms falling under the renovator umbrella would include renovation contractors,
maintenance workers, and painters.
One prominent omission from the rule is the lack of a clearance
testing requirement after renovation and remodeling work is performed. Another
is the absence of a prohibition against dangerous methods of removing paint
such as uncontrolled power sanding and sandblasting.
For more information on the rule, see www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.
Public comments, due April 10, can be submitted online atwww.regulations.gov or via mail at: Document Control Office
(7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001. All
comments should be identified with Docket Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0049.
“Smart”
Rochester Lead Ordinance Passes Unanimously
Making good on the Mayor of Rochester’s pledge at
the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning’s June 2004 Lead Summit, the Rochester
City Council unanimously passed a comprehensive lead poisoning prevention ordinance
on December 20 that requires preventive inspections for lead hazards. The measure
was signed into law by outgoing Mayor William Johnson, Jr. on December 22, and
later that day the City Council unanimously approved new regulations for the
law.
Advocates have long recognized the need for stronger lead
policy to address Rochester’s high rate of childhood
lead poisoning in the absence of a statewide primary prevention law. With input
from leading lead researchers, the Alliance, the National Center for Healthy
Housing, the Centers for Disease Control, and many others, the Coalition submitted
proposed legislation in January 2005. Alternative proposals were submitted by
the Mayor and by a property owner group. These various possibilities were vigorously
debated over the past year. The ordinance, which local advocates called “one
of the smartest” lead laws in the U.S., has several notable features:
Mandatory visual inspection by city inspectors of all
rental housing as part of the existing Certificate of Occupancy system, under
which each building is inspected every five years
Targeted implementation of the inspections in “high
risk” areas'
In the targeted areas, units that pass a visual inspection
must also pass dust wipes and all units must be inspected by 2009
Everyone conducting lead hazard reduction must have
Lead Safe Work Practices training
After work is completed, owners must obtain a clearance
examination by a private lead sampling technician/risk assessor
A Citizens Advisory Committee will provide input into
the implementation process
In addition, the Monroe County Executive has pledged to
incorporate the code’s provisions in pre move-in inspections of homes
of families on public assistance. This city-county model of primary prevention
could inform national efforts to require lead safety in all housing for families
on public assistance. In Rochester’s weak housing market, the need for
financial resources to subsidize lead hazard reduction is critical. Thus, this
law makes passage of a state and federal tax credit for lead hazard reduction
even more urgent, and the Coalition has pledged to continue to work to bring
additional funding options to help make Rochester’s housing lead-safe.
New York
County Issues Report on Lead Poisoning Prevention Pilot Project
On December 2, Monroe County, New York, issued the report
on its Deteriorated Paint Pilot Project. In 2004, County Executive Maggie Brooks
directed Monroe County’s Health Department and Human Services Department
to jointly study the feasibility of assessing residential properties for deteriorated
paint that are rented to Monroe County families receiving temporary assistance
benefits. The Departments conducted the study in the spring and summer of 2005.
All 30 units (100 percent) assessed for this pilot project
had deteriorated paint. Eighty-three percent of these units were rated to be
in excellent structural condition and 60 percent were rated to have a low overall
amount of deteriorated paint.
During the project, property owners were encouraged to
apply for a $3,500 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Lead
Hazard Control grant offered by the county. The owners of nine of the units
applied for the grant funds, and all nine units were awarded grants. The owners
have since completed lead hazard reduction work, including clearance testing.
The report concludes that Monroe County should incorporate
an assessment of risk for lead poisoning into its Quality Housing Initiative
(QHI), a program designed to assure the safety of housing that is rented to
public assistance clients. The report recommends that Monroe County, the City
of Rochester, and their partners work together to implement the changes suggested.
Inspector
General Issues Final Report on HUD’s FY 2004 Healthy Homes and Lead Grant
Award Improprieties
On December 7, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), issued its final audit
report on improprieties in the 2004 healthy homes and lead hazard control grant
process.
The report, titled “The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development Did Not Properly Award Fiscal Year 2004 Healthy Homes
and Lead Hazard Control Grants,” resulted from complaints made in 2004
by the Alliance, other public interest organizations, and some Senators and
House Representatives. The OIG issued interim results of the audit on May 16.
In summary, the OIG found that HUD’s Offoce of Healthy
Housing and Lead Hazard Control (OHHLHC) did not properly award the majority
of its FY 2004 grants. The audit found that of the 72 applications that were
successful, OHHLHC did not properly evaluate, or could not demonstrate that
it properly evaluated, 34 of them. The OIG found that eight grants, totaling
$20.5 million, were improperly awarded, and 26 successful grants were not backed
up by sufficient documentation to determine whether or not they were justified.
Furthermore, of 55 unfunded applications that OIG reviewed,
54 did not contain enough information in the files to support the decision to
reject the grant applications. Despite the lack of information in OHHLHC’s
files, the OIG was able to determine that one of the applicants was improperly
denied a grant award worth $365,736.
The OIG found that these problems stemmed from a lack of
adequate internal controls to ensure that the grant award process was fair and
equitable. The report notes that following its May 16 interim report, OHHLHC
changed management, no longer relied on a contractor to help with the grant
award process, and updated its policies and procedures.
The OIG recommended further controls to ensure proper evaluation
of grant applications and to maintain all documentation to support the award
or denial of grants. The OIG also recommended that OHHLHC continue efforts to
determine the legality of recovering the $20.5 million in grants that were improperly
awarded in FY 2004, and suggested that if those funds are legally recoverable,
the Office should also obtain the necessary documentation relating to the other
26 successful applicants and recover any additional amounts that may prove to
have been improperly awarded. The OIG further recommended that OHHLHC review
all unfunded applications from FY 2004 to ensure that unsuccessful applicants
were not denied awards that they should have received.
The EPA has designated January as Radon Action Month, an
excellent time for homeowners and property managers to test for radon in single-family
and multi-unit homes. It’s also an opportunity for state and local health
and environmental protection departments to educate the public about this dangerous
colorless, odorless gas, which can enter homes anywhere in the nation.
Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer
in America, and EPA estimates that approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths each
year are radon-related. Radon comes from the decay of naturally occurring uranium
in the earth’s soil and can accumulate indoors to dangerous levels.
Simple, inexpensive do-it-yourself radon test kits are
available. EPA recommends that houses with radon levels of 4 picocuries per
liter (pCi/L) or more should be mitigated to prevent accumulation of the gas
indoors. To learn more about how to receive a discounted radon home test kit
and how to contact your state radon office, go to www.epa.gov/radon
or call 1-800-SOS-Radon. For more in-depth reading on radon, see www.afhh.org/dah/dah_radon.htm#radonresourcedocuments.
Post-Katrina
Yards and Homes Are Contaminated with Lead
In New Orleans, scientists continue to discover environmental
health hazards in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a study published in
December 2005 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, Texas Tech
University toxicologist Steven M. Presley describes elevated concentrations
of lead in soil deposited by floodwaters caused by the hurricane.
The study found that two sites in a sample of 14 had lead
above 400 parts per million, the level at which EPA says lead is hazardous in
soil. Lead contaminated soil was found coating yards, as well as inside some
homes, brought in when water invaded homes during flooding from Katrina. As
floodwaters receded, they deposited this soil on floors, walls, and furniture.
Presley and others say that while the lead levels are not
astronomically high, they still pose a threat to young children, who should
not be allowed in homes or yards where lead-contaminated soil is present. The
soil can also pose a risk to rehabilitation and demolition workers who tear
out flooring and walls and remove belongings destroyed by the hurricane. All
workers are urged to wear appropriate respirators and protective Tyvek outergarments
and to dispose of all clothing contaminated with soil or dust during recovery
work.
The lead hazard posed by contaminated soil is in addition
to the health threat posed by lead-based paint that was damaged by hurricane.
Much of the housing stock in New Orleans and throughout many Gulf Coast communities
was built before 1978, meaning it likely contains lead-based paint. Water damage,
subsequent excessive moisture, and structural damage have caused paint deterioration
in many homes, leading to the creation of leaded dust that can easily become
airborne and ingested or inhaled.
Congress
Approves Additional Hurricane Rebuilding Aid
In late December 2005, Congress approved spending and tax
incentives that will provide some help for rebuilding areas affected by Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. A $29 billion spending package includes $11.5 billion
for additional CDBG funds and $390 million for housing vouchers for displaced
residents. The bill also permits the states of Louisiana and Mississippi each
to provide up to $20 million to the Enterprise Foundation and the Local Initiatives
Support Corporation for community capacity building and self-help housing activities.
Also, an $8 billion tax incentive package will provide
Low Income Housing Tax Credits sufficient to develop approximately 50,000 new
rental homes, primarily in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama; $1 billion in
new economic development investments based on the New Markets Tax Credit in
Katrina disaster areas; and additional tax-exempt bond authority in Katrina
disaster areas.
Vermont
Struggles to Rein in Lead Poisoning Problem
Vermont officials said in December 2005 that the state
is having a difficult time reining in its childhood lead poisoning problem.
While lead poisoning has declined significantly in Vermont over the past few
decades, one legislator identified it as the state’s number one child
health problem.
Vermont contains the second oldest housing stock in the
country, according to state officials, and elevated blood lead levels are three
times the national average in communities with the worst lead poisoning problems.
The Department of Health says it is not satisfied with the state’s progress
on eliminating childhood lead poisoning.
Some state legislators are also concerned. State Representative
Michael Obuchowski (D-Bellows Falls) said that he has never seen a report to
the Legislature that the Department of Health was supposed to issue, detailing
gains made protecting Vermont’s children from lead poisoning. He and State
Representative Ann Pugh (D-South Burlington) said they will investigate options
for crafting a tougher lead poisoning prevention statute. Local agencies say
that such statements prove that the state’s law “needs to give given
some teeth.”
Common
Insecticides Persist in Homes and Pose Health Risks
In a study recently published in the International Journal
of Hygiene and Environmental Health, researchers found that synthetic pyrethroids,
a common class of widely used insecticides, persist for long periods of time
in house dust when applied indoors. The researchers examined the chemicals cyfluthrin,
cypermethrin, deltamethrin, permethrin, which are used extensively in commercial
insecticide formulations sold at hardware and discount retailers in the United
States and abroad.
The researchers found that one day after application in
homes studied, concentrations of all four pyrethroids were significantly elevated.
After six months, all four chemicals could still be found in the homes in which
they were applied. A full year after application found two of the chemicals,
permethrin and cyfluthrin, still remained in elevated concentrations in house
dust. The persistence of these pesticides in house dust mean that children and
families are exposed to the chemicals long after application against roaches
and other insects, and the chemicals’ presence in house dust provides
an easy ingestion pathway for children via normal hand-to-mouth behaviors.
Health effects from exposure to pyrethroids include headache,
dizziness, nausea, and eye and skin irritation. Chronic effects from permethrin
and cypermethrin could include lung cancer, breast cancer, and disruption of
the endocrine and immune systems. Some synthetic pyrethroids are also suspected
asthma triggers, meaning that they could be partially responsible for making
asthma the number one health-related reason for school absences and could be
contributing to the billions of dollars that asthma costs America every year.
Alternatives to synthetic pyrethroids and other indoor
pesticides do exist. Integrated pest management (IPM), which uses well-established
pest prevention and control strategies, can help prevent adverse health effects
like those caused by exposure to pyrethroids. IPM emphasizes physical measures
such as filling holes and cracks, patching screens, fixing water leaks and other
sources of excessive moisture, and elimination of readily accessible food sources
to prevent insect infestations in the home. To address existing insect problems,
IPM provides lower-toxicity tools such as boric acid, diatomaceous earth, glue
traps, gel baits, and tamper-proof bait stations that, unlike pesticide sprays,
greatly reduce the risk of dangerous chemical exposures in the home.
EPA
Settles Lead Disclosure Violation against Northern Virginia Landlord
In December, the EPA settled a disclosure violation case
against a northern Virginia property management company. In a consent agreement
with EPA, Carydale Apartment Management agreed to pay a $41,657 penalty for
failing to provide required information about lead-based paint hazards in 19
residential leases in 2000 and 2001. These leases involved Carydale properties
Alexandria and Arlington, VA.
EPA cited Carydale for failing to provide the required
warnings and disclosures about lead-based paint in leases signed from July 2000
through December 2001. EPA discovered these violations in an April 2002 inspection.
Bedding
Used for Infants May Influence Childhood Asthma Rates
According to scientists, using all-natural bedding may
contribute to an overall reduction in the risk of a child developing asthma,
providing an easy, home-based way for parents to help keep their children healthy.
In the December 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public
Health, Australian researchers documented an association between bedding materials
used in cribs and development of asthma later in life. They found that bedding
containing no synthetic materials was the least hospitable to dust mites, a
major asthma trigger. Bedding containing two or more types of synthetic fibers
was associated with the greatest dust mite exposure. This association persisted
even when bedroom carpeting, another common source of dust mites and other asthma
triggers, was removed.
The scientists found that by the age of seven, children
who had been exposed to bedding containing at least one synthetic material as
infants were more than twice as likely to have recently suffered asthma symptoms
compared to those who slept on all-natural bedding as infants.
HUD Announces
Early Registration Opportunity for FY 2006 SuperNOFA
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
has announced an early registration opportunity for applicants who are planning
to submit healthy homes and lead hazard control grant proposals in response
to the FY 2006 SuperNOFA, which will be issued within the coming weeks.
Early registrations may be submitted to grants.gov until
January 31. The process will allow applicants to finalize DUNS numbers, CCRs,
and Authorized Organization Representatives before grant writing begins in earnest.
HUD believes early registration will help to remove one of the obstacles encountered
by organizations and agencies in FY 2005.
For more information, visit www.grants.gov
or call the NOFA Information Center at 1-800-HUD-8929 between the hours of 10
a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Alliance
Releases Report on Effective Practices to Prompt More Efficient, Complete Code
Enforcement
The Alliance has released a report detailing a collection
of effective practices that can help prompt more efficient and complete code
enforcement to help improve healthy housing conditions. The report, “Effective
Practices for Enforcing Codes to Ensure Decent Housing Condition,” is
a collection of strategies from around the nation that have proven useful for
health departments, housing code agencies, and community-based organizations.
The report was originally compiled for the Greensboro Housing Coalition and
its allies on the City Council and within city agencies, who have used it successfully
to raise awareness of how code enforcement and housing condition go hand in
hand.
The report is intended to be dynamic and updated periodically.
If you know of any effective code enforcement strategies not listed in the report
and would like to suggest them for inclusion, please send all information to
Brian Gumm at bgumm@afhh.org.
The suggested strategies should useful to one or more code enforcement agencies
and should, for example, feature innovative partnerships or “carrot and
stick” approaches to improve enforcement of healthy housing conditions.
CEHRC
Broadens Access to its Training Resources
The Community Environmental Health Resource Center (CEHRC),
a program of the Alliance for Healthy Homes, is pleased to make available access
to its training for organizations and agencies that want to carry out low-cost
home hazard assessments. CEHRC can provide this training at cost to entities
seeking to train groups of 10 to 25 hazard investigators.
CEHRC recently decided to broaden access to its training
beyond CEHRC’s subgrantee community in order to expand the movement to
identify health hazards in housing across the US. Knowing how to document and
characterize health hazards in the area’s housing stock could be a vital
part of local lead poisoning prevention or healthy homes work. For all the details
about the training options, the costs of the training, and how to schedule training
sessions, see www.cehrc.org/tools/training/index.cfm.
Upcoming Conferences
The Lead and Healthy Homes National Conference and the
Indoor Environmental Health & Technologies Conference will be held March
28-31, 2006, 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 Ohio Department of Health is sponsoring its 13th Ohio
Lead Poisoning Prevention Conference June 20-22, 2006, 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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