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IN THIS ISSUE:
On December 4, the City of Newark, NJ joined a growing number
of cities, states, and school districts in filing suit against
the lead industry, seeking to hold the industry accountable
for manufacturing and marketing lead-based paint for decades
after the dangers were well known. Defendants in the suit
include eight paint companies (Sherwin-Williams, Dupont, and
Glidden, among others) and the Lead Industries Association.
The suit seeks damages to fund public health and lead hazard
remediation, including programs for detection and abatement
of lead-based paint in public and private homes and buildings,
medical screening and treatment for lead-poisoned children,
and public education on the hazards of lead-based paint.
Paint companies and their trade group – the Lead Industries Association
– face increased pressure to pay their fair share to help remedy
a problem they created. The State of Rhode Island, Santa Clara County,
Harris County in Texas, New York City, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and the Houston
and Jefferson County school districts have all filed suits. Visit the
“Legal
Remedies” section of the Alliance’s website for
background and up-to-date information on the growing number of suits against
the lead industry.
In a landmark decision, the New York Court of Appeals in
November ruled that landlords of older properties statewide
can no longer claim ignorance of actual lead paint hazards
as a defense against liability if a child is lead poisoned
in their property. Prior to this ruling, a landlord's duty
to address lead paint -- and hence a tenant's ability to sue
a landlord for damages resulting from a child's ingestion
of lead paint -- depended on where in New York State the tenant
lived. Outside New York City (and even in small buildings
in New York City) landlords often were not liable unless they
could be shown to have actual knowledge of the presence of
lead paint.
The decision creates a 5-part test for when an injured tenant
can proceed with a lawsuit against a landlord. The landlord
must have the right to enter the premises and assumed a duty
to make repairs, know that the apartment was built before
lead-based interior paint was banned, know that paint was
peeling, know of the hazards of lead-based paint to young
children and know that a young child lived in the apartment.
Local advocates believe that this ruling will have a major
impact in getting landlords to be more proactive in preventing
lead poisoning.
The decision came in response to a lead poisoning case filed
on behalf of a one-year old Albany child hospitalized in 1995
due to severe lead poisoning. The decision significantly expands
tenants’ ability to sue and helps to protect families
against negligent landlords. The court’s decision is
available online at the New York City Coalition to End Lead
Poisoning’s website, www.nmic.org/nyccelp.htm.
A friends of the court brief, filed by the Coalition and other
advocates and doctors, can be found online at the Coalition’s
website, www.nmic.org/nyccelp/documents/CHAPMAN-AMICUS-BRIEF.PDF.
For further information, contact Matthew Hachure at the Northern
Manhattan Improvement Corporation, 212-822-8309, chachere@igc.apc.org.
On Nov. 29, Boston community and civic organizations, policy
makers, government officials and researchers held a day-long
summit to write a blueprint to end childhood lead poisoning
by 2005. Because of the substantial progress made against
lead poisoning in the past two decades, local advocates believe
that it is realistic to make Boston the first major US city
to effectively wipe out this disease. Nearly 100 people participated
in this meeting organized by the Lead Action Collaborative,
a non-profit umbrella group based at Tufts Institute of the
Environment, and the New England Lead Coordinating Committee,
which is part of Tufts University School of Medicine. Working
groups were created to convince Boston and other area cities
to file suit against the lead paint industry, lobby the State
for more funding, conduct community needs assessment research,
map address-specific lead poisoning data to help target resources
and prevention efforts, promote community and government collaboration
and communication, and identify remaining barriers to getting
lead hazards out of high-risk homes. Advocates seek to document
their efforts so that other cities and states may use their
campaign as a model to end childhood lead poisoning.
For more information, contact Skye K. Schulte, Project Director,
Lead Action Collaborative, 617-627-4679, leadaction.collab@excite.com.
“Iron Deficiency Associated with Higher Blood Lead
in Children Living in Contaminated Environments,” published
in Environmental Health Perspectives (October 2001, Vol. 109,
No. 10) compared the blood lead levels of iron-deficient and
iron-replete children living in lead contaminated environments
to assess whether iron deficiency increases children’s
susceptibility to lead poisoning. The study’s authors,
Asa Bradman, Brenda Eskenazi, Patrice Sutton, Marcos Athanasoulis,
and Lynn R. Goldman, measured the content of lead in paint,
soil, dust and the age of housing and iron status for 319
children, aged 1-5. The study found that blood lead levels
among iron-deficient children were generally higher (about
1 µg/dL) and that the largest difference (3 µg/dL)
in blood lead levels occurred between iron-deficient and iron-replete
children living in homes most contaminated with lead hazards.
The study concludes that improving children’s iron status
may help to lower children’s blood lead levels –
especially children living in very hazardous housing conditions.
The study can be obtained online at http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109p1079-1084bradman/abstract.html.
“A Comparison of Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children
Living in Foster Care, Their Siblings and the General Population,”
published in the May 2001 issue of Pediatrics (Vol. 107, No
5) found that children entering foster care were more likely
to have an elevated blood lead level, when compared to children
already in foster care or children in the general population.
Authors, Esther K. Chung, MD, MPH; David Webb, PhD; Susan
Clampet-Lundquist, MA; and Carla Campbell, MD, MS, reviewed
blood lead data from June 1992 to May 1997 at the Philadelphia
Department of Health. The study found that children awaiting
foster care placement were nearly twice as likely to have
an elevated blood lead level. The authors conclude that children
receiving social services who suffer from abuse and neglect
should be considered at special risk for lead poisoning and
actively screened. The study can be obtained online at www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/5/e81.
On November 13, the Housing and Transportation Subcommittee
of the US Senate held a hearing on state and local responses
to childhood lead poisoning. Witnesses noted that federal
prevention programs currently address only a fraction of the
25 million homes that have significant lead hazards and called
on Congress to appropriate four to five times more money than
is now provided for lead hazard control. Witnesses also called
for holding the lead paint manufacturers accountable for helping
clean up the problem they created.
Witnesses included Alliance Board member Susan Thornfeldt,
Coordinator of the Maine Lead Action Project; Dr. Bruce Lanphear,
Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Medical
Center in Cincinnati; Nick Farr, Executive Director, National
Center for Lead-Safe Housing; Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
Attorney General; Richard Fatur, Environmental Protection
Specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and
the Environment; and Sue Heller, Administrator of the Manchester
Lead Abatement Project in Manchester, Connecticut. Transcripts
of all the testimonies are available on the Senate Banking
Committee web site at www.senate.gov/~banking/01_11hrg/111301/index.htm.
Julia Burgess recently joined the Alliance’s staff
as director of the Community Environmental Health Resource
Center (CEHRC) – a new resource to community-based organizations
committed to bridge the gap between science and communities
in order to protect children at high risk for lead poisoning,
asthma, and other environmental health hazards posed by substandard
housing. Julia brings over 14 years experience in providing
technical assistance to community-based organizations involved
in community building efforts around housing, employment,
health care, and youth development. Julia previously served
as Director of Special Initiatives and Eastern Regional Director
at the Center for Community Change and Executive Director
of Demicco Youth Services, a community-based child welfare
agency in the Cabrini-Green Housing Development in Chicago.
Visit the Alliance’s website at www.afhh.org
for more information on this new resource to community groups or contact
Julia Burgess at jburgess@afhh.orgor
202-543-1147.
The Nov.-Dec. 2001 issue of Clearinghouse Review, published
by the National Center on Poverty Law, includes an article
by the Alliance's Don Ryan and Ralph Scott called "New
Environmental Sampling and Right-to-Know Strategies for Housing
and Tenants' Rights Advocates". The article explores
the feasibility of addressing substandard housing conditions
associated with environmental hazards to human health through
limited environmental sampling used in conjunction with community
organizing strategies that leverage right-to-know laws and
enforcement of other environmental, health, and housing codes
and laws. It also discusses the Community Environmental Health
Resource Center (CEHRC), a project developed by the Alliance
in collaboration with numerous local healthy homes advocacy
organizations to provide technical assistance and other support
to organizations interested in such strategies.
Subscribers can access the article on the Clearinghouse Review web site
at www.povertylaw.org/legalresearch/articles/clearinghouse.cfm.
To request an electronic "PDF" version of this article from
the Alliance, please e-mail Ralph Scott at rscott@afhh.org.
More than 23,000 individuals have been trained to perform
work covered by HUD’s lead safety regulation through
HUD-sponsored initiatives, including approximately 20,000
trained in lead-safe work practices, 1,400 in abatement work
or supervision, 870 in risk assessment, and 1,000 as lead
sampling technicians. Most of the cities and counties that
claimed inadequate capacity to implement the regulation on
time last year have not sought further extensions of transition
assistance. Final extensions have been granted to 21 states
(AK, AZ, CA, HI, IA, ID, KY, MA, MI, MT, ND, NE, NV, NY, OH,
PA, SC, SD, UT, WA, WY) and 213 cities and counties. All of
these final extensions terminate on January 10, 2002.
Information about free accredited training in lead sampling,
abatement, and risk assessment is available at www.leadlisting.org
or by calling 1-866-HUD-1012 (toll-free). Training may be
scheduled for groups by calling Jim Reese at 1-866-HUD-1012
(toll-free) or 703-312-7809; the target class size is 50.
Training for States, local jurisdictions, and private organizations
can be scheduled by calling Jack Anderson at the National
Center for Healthy Housing, 410-772-2770. HUD is developing
a pilot program to promote and deliver lead-safe work practices
training through community colleges in two cities.
EPA’s model training course, “Minimizing Lead-Based
Paint Hazards During Renovation, Remodeling and Painting,”
is now available online at www.epa.gov/lead/rrmodel.htm.
The course is intended to provide a regulatory framework for
carrying out renovation and remodeling activities that disturb
lead-based paint. The site contains six course modules and
six appendices, including HUD’s “Lead Paint Safety:
A Field Guide for Painting, Home Maintenance, and Renovation
Work.” Course materials include an instructor’s
manual, student’s manual, and accompanying video. A
limited number of free copies of the course video can be obtained
by contacting the National Lead Information Center at 800-424-LEAD
(5323).
The National Housing Trust Fund was developed by a broad
coalition of groups to support the development of 1.5 million
decent affordable housing units by 2010. The fund would take
advantage of unused profits from HUD programs, producing a
real net increase in resources for affordable housing. More
than 1,600 organizations from around the country have endorsed
the Campaign, and the House bill to enact the housing trust
fund has 118 co-sponsors. To endorse this effort, visit www.nhtf.org
call 202-662-1530 x223, or e-mail kim@nlihc.org
for a copy of the endorsement form.
EPA recently announced the availability of funding for environmental
justice programs that have a direct impact on affected communities. Non-profit
organizations; state, local, and tribal governments; and colleges and
universities are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to non-profit,
community-based/grassroots organizations and federally recognized tribal
governments. Approximately 1.5 million in funding is available, of which
$500,000 is only available for Superfund projects. EPA anticipates making
approximately five to six new grants. The deadline for applications is
February 21, 2002.
Community Toolbox for Children’s Environmental Health
has issued guidelines for its 2002 grant cycle. Grants will
support programmatic and capacity building for projects that
address children’s environmental health and lead poisoning
specifically. Preference will be given to parent/grandparent
organizations and community-based groups working in communities
of color and/or low-income communities. Applications are due
by March 15, 2002. Visit www.communitytoolbox.org
or contact Community Toolbox at 206-706-6490 or toolbox@telport.com
to obtain a copy of the grant guidelines and application package.
Healthy Children, Healthy Environments: A Conference of Significant
Global Dimensions will be held on June 1-3, 2002 in Washington,
DC. The National Safety Council is sponsoring the conference,
in partnership with the Alliance, the Children’s Environmental
Health Network, EPA, and the National Coalition for Lead-Safe
Kids. The conference seeks to bring together individuals in
various sectors to develop comprehensive plans to address
lead in the environment on a global scale. The conference
will focus on a broad spectrum of sources including gasoline,
consumer products, pottery, food, and medicines. The conference
features interactive workshops and regional caucuses. For
more information including the conference program and hotel
and registration information, contact Dr. Janet Phoenix at
the National Safety Council on 202-974-2474 or phoenixj@nsc.org.
The National Lead-Safe Housing and Indoor Environmental Health
Conference, a national conference, will be held from June
2-5, 2002 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, in
tandem with the international conference. The two conferences
will hold joint sessions on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.
E-mail program and speaker suggestions to Steve Weil, Conference
Director, at weilcm@erols.com.
***For information on the Alliance’s international
programs and worldwide prevention activities, please visit
our Global Lead Network website at www.globalleadnet.org*** |
