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IN THIS ISSUE:
On September 5, Chicago joined 35 other governments, including the State
of Rhode Island and the cities of San Francisco, Milwaukee, Newark and
St. Louis, in filing a legal suit to hold the lead industry accountable
for knowingly harming children by producing and marketing lead-based paint.
Chicago, which has more lead-poisoned children than any city in the country
and almost any state, has adopted an approach similar to Rhode Island’s
landmark case. Both lawsuits claim that the presence of lead-based paint
in homes and buildings poses a health and safety threat to area children
and seek to hold the companies responsible for eliminating this “public
nuisance.”
The Alliance commends Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago for working
to advance lead poisoning prevention by requiring the lead industry to
help solve the problem it created.
The State of Rhode Island has rested its case in phase one of the state's
landmark trial against the lead industry, now in its second month. The
first phase of the trial will determine whether the presence of lead-based
paint in the state's public and private buildings constitutes a public
nuisance. The state's witnesses included some of the nation’s leading
researchers and pediatricians, who testified that intact lead paint can
be dangerous and that even low exposures can harm children. The industry
has argued that lead-based paint poses no problem when it is well-maintained
and sought to blame property owners and government agencies for allowing
lead paint to deteriorate and poison children. If the state wins in the
initial phase of the trial, the case will proceed to the next phase to
determine liability and damages.
This year’s National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is
October 20-26, offering an opportunity for local groups and agencies to
highlight expanded prevention and advocacy efforts. The Alliance’s
website contains outreach and education materials developed for the Campaign
for a Lead-Safe America, including a "Community Outreach Kit”
with tips for working with the media and recruiting partners. (See “Lead
Poisoning Prevention Outreach and Education Tools”)
Additional resources, including templates of public service announcements,
press releases, and media advisories to help agencies promote community-based
activities are available on EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/lead.
Please share successful local events with us (info@afhh.org).
On October 7, the VA-HUD Subcommittee marked up the FY2003 appropriations
bill. The committee included a total of $126 million for HUD’s Office
of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, which is an increase of $16
million above last year and consistent with the President’s Budget
Request. The House did not include the Senate’s $75 million add-on
for the urban lead initiative targeted to the top 25 areas. Within the
House total, Healthy Homes is level funded at $10 million and Operation
LEAP is increased to $10 million. Congress will likely break for the election
before the full House votes on this bill, which will probably delay final
decisions to settle the differences at conference until at least November.
A new book by Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner details the sordid history
of the lead and chemical industries to profit from marketing products
despite their well-known dangers to human health. Deceit and Denial: The
Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution discusses the health consequences
faced by many because of the failure of industrial polluters to warn,
inform, and protect their workers and neighbors. It offers a historical
analysis of how corporate control over scientific research has undermined
the process of proving links between toxic chemicals and disease. The
book also highlights advocates’ efforts to raise awareness and protect
their communities from the dangers of lead, despite challenges from the
industry.
In September 2002, the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention (ACCLPP) submitted recommendations to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson
for a new process authorizing states to provide Medicaid lead screening
on a targeted basis. Current federal policy requires blood lead screening
for all Medicaid enrollees at 12 and 24 months of age, but only about
20% of children served by Medicaid are screened nationwide. In response
to requests from two states that screening requirements be waived completely,
former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala requested guidance from the ACCLPP.
After considering lead screening initiatives, program capacities, and
the latest national and state data documenting significant variation in
the risk for childhood lead poisoning from place to place, ACCLPP has
recommended an alternative approach under which states that want to target
screening within their Medicaid populations would apply for a “Lead
Screening Exception” (LSE). Under the ACCLPP proposal, a state’s
application would be based on analysis of risk factors and identification
of highest risk areas and populations. States that do not receive an LSE
would be required to provide routine screening to all Medicaid enrollees.
A new Peer Review Committee, to be appointed by CDC and made up of lead
poisoning prevention program experts with firsthand experience in targeted
screening strategies, would review the applications. The ACCLPP’s
stated goal is encouraging “smarter screening” through concerted
efforts by state health departments and Medicaid agencies.
Although HHS officials appeared to indicate that they would rely on the
Advisory Committee’s advice during the controversy last spring over
Medicaid screening, HHS has not yet reacted to ACCLPP’s recommendations.
For more information, contact Dr. Carla Campbell, ACCLPP Chair, at Carla.Campbell@phila.gov.
The Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (ACCLPP)
has historically provided science-based advice to inform CDC's policies
to prevent lead poisoning. The committee has always included subject-matter
experts, researchers, and public health practitioners and has been instrumental
in setting national screening and prevention policy. Historically, CDC
has nominated candidates and HHS has accepted their recommendations. For
the first time, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson,
has overruled the nominations of the CDC and named his own appointees.
The rejected nominations include Dr. Michael Weitzman, Dr. Bruce Lanphear,
and Dr. Susan Klitzman, who are widely regarded experts and practitioners
in lead poisoning prevention. Secretary Thompson's appointees include
Dr. William Banner, who is on the witness list for the lead industry in
the Rhode Island trial; Dr. Joyce Tsuji, a consultant whose corporate
clients include ASARCO and King & Spaulding, a law firm representing
several lead companies; and Dr. Kimberly Thompson of the Harvard Center
for Risk Analysis whose funders include two defendants in the Rhode Island
case and 22 other companies that have released lead in the environment.
Representatives Edward Markey, Eddie Bernice-Johnson, and Henry Waxman
held a press conference and have written Secretary Thompson to protest
the unprecedented effort to stack the scientific advisory board with members
with financial ties to the lead industry.
EPA Region 5 recently filed a complaint against Chicago property owners
Ivan and Jadranka Mijic for failing to warn tenants of lead hazards in
10 rental properties. EPA proposed a $76,890 fine against the property
owners for 46 violations. This action is part of EPA and HUD’s ongoing
efforts to enforce the lead hazard disclosure rule. For more information
on this enforcement action, visit EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/region5/news/news02/02opa119.htm.
On September 26, Governor Davis signed into law SB 460, California's
first law that is geared to protect children from lead hazards in their
homes before they are poisoned. SB 460 makes "lead hazards"
a housing violation under state law and authorizes building departments,
code enforcement and health departments to investigate and enforce the
law against landlords, just like other housing violations. In addition,
SB 460 prohibits construction work that creates lead hazards and authorizes
enforcement agencies to stop unsafe work and require lead hazards to be
safely abated. Violators can be fined $1,000 for each offense. SB 460
also requires laboratories to report the results of all lead blood screens
to the State Department of Health Services (DHS). This will allow DHS,
for the first time, to collect accurate data on the extent of screening
and poisoning throughout the state. The law is the result of over ten
years work by community advocates in California. For more information,
contact Greg Spiegel, Western Center on Law and Poverty at 213-487-7211
or gspiegel@wclp.org.
Since June, the Milwaukee health department has been obtaining warrants
to enter rental properties, correct lead paint hazards, and add the cost
of repairs to the buildings' property tax bills. In each case, a landlord
has failed to obey an order to abate identified lead paint hazards within
30 days. Health officials describe the program as a last resort. On the
other hand, city subsidies for lead hazard repairs are available for compliant
owners. The health department has also secured cooperation from a local
bank, TCF Bank, to approve lead hazard reduction financing for owners
within 8 hours of application.
Health officials say the warrants allow them to protect children faster
than the previous approach, which included orders and fines for non-compliance.
At least 16 properties received lead safety treatments in this way from
June through September. For more information, contact Richard Gaeta, Milwaukee
Health Department at 414-286-5788 or rgaeta@ci.mil.wi.us.
The City of San Diego has begun work on a lead hazard control pilot
program that seeks to use cost-effective strategies to address hazards
in low-income housing. The project brings together staff from the San
Diego Housing Commission, federal funds, and three local non-profit organizations.
The Environmental Health Coalition is working to coordinate the program
and oversee outreach and education efforts. MAAC Project and Campesinos
Unidos will perform lead hazard control and weatherization work. The program
will target five pre-1950 homes in Sherman Heights, a San Diego neighborhood
where the risk of lead hazards is high. When work on the homes is complete,
the city's Housing Commission will conduct clearance sampling to ensure
that the homes are free of hazards. The homes then will be listed on a
lead-safe housing registry. The city hopes to expand the program in the
future.
The October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (Vol. 110, No.10)
has several articles on lead poisoning. Of special note is “The
Lead Effect?” by Julie Wakefield, which provides commentary on the
scientific evidence of links between lead poisoning and criminal behavior.
For a copy of the article from http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110-10/toc.html
you need to subscribe to Environmental Health Perspectives, which costs
$50 per year.
A new article published in Environmental Health Perspectives (October
2002, Vol. 110, No. 10) by David E. Jacobs, Robert P. Clickner, Joey Y.
Zhou, et al. summarizes the results of the National Survey of Lead and
Allergens in Housing and discusses the implications of these results.
This latest survey estimates that 38 million housing units across the
US contain lead-based paint and associated hazards. Twenty-four million
units have significant lead-based paint hazards, and low-income families
occupy about 1.2 million of those units. The housing stock in the Northeast
and Midwest has about twice the prevalence of hazards compared to housing
in the South and West. Researchers conclude that public and private sector
resources should be directed to units posing the greatest risk to prevent
lead poisoning. The article is posted online at www.hud.gov/offices/lead/techstudies/LeadPaintHousingSurvey.pdf.
On August 19, the federal Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP)
issued its findings related to the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s lead
poisoning prevention study, which the Maryland Court of Appeals had sharply
criticized. OHRP’s letter noted three shortcomings and concluded
that corrective action already taken is adequate in each case. A copy
of OHRP’s letter is available at http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/detrm_letrs/YR02/aug02c.pdf.
The Alliance’s International Program took maximum advantage of
the multiple opportunities provided by the United Nations World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa from
26 August – 4 September to advance leaded gasoline phase-out and
lead poisoning prevention worldwide. The Alliance was successful at the
WSSD in recruiting potential partners for both our Global Lead Initiative
partnership for implementation and our Global Lead Network (GLN). The
Alliance also sponsored and participated in numerous panels and workshops
on clean fuels, urban pollution, toxics, and children’s environmental
health, and represented the international NGO community at the WSSD’s
plenary session on health.
During the WSSD, we utilized the GLN website, www.globalleadnet.org,
to provide regular updates on the proceedings. We plan to publish a WSSD-Summary
edition of the GLN Newsletter and to update the website with information
including summaries of Alliance events at the WSSD and continuing follow-up
activities. Sign-up to receive the Alliance’s international GLN
Newsletter at www.globalleadnet.org.
For additional information, please contact Laura Fudala at lfudala@afhh.org.
A Spanish version of "Lead Paint Safety: A Field Guide" is
now available. "La Seguridad con la Pintura de Plomo: Una guía
práctica para la pintura, el mantenimiento y las renovaciones en
las viviendas" is intended to help painters, contractors, and do-it-yourselfers
perform routine maintenance on homes and apartments in a lead-safe manner.
This practical, easy-to-use guide contains step-by-step instructions and
illustrations. Up to five copies of the guide can be ordered for free
from the National Lead Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-424-LEAD or
the guide can be downloaded from www.hud.gov/offices/lead.
An article in the November 2002 issue of Redbook chronicles the personal
story of Susan Thornfeldt, parent activist and founder of the Maine Lead
Action Project, whose children were lead poisoned during home renovation
work. While the article warns parents to have their homes tested and young
children screened for lead poisoning, it makes clear that lead poisoning
is a public health and housing issue that requires governmental and private-sector
resources for prevention. The article also mentions efforts underway to
hold the lead industry accountable for manufacturing lead paint, despite
its well-known dangers to human health. This issue of Redbook is available
on newsstands for $2.50 or by visiting www.redbookmag.com.
This fall the National Lead Abatement Action Council will hold three
regional conferences focusing on mold, lead, healthy homes and children’s
environmental health.
- North Central Regional Conference – Minneapolis, MN, October
22-24, 2002
- Southeast Regional Conference – Atlanta, GA, November 6-8,
2002
- Midwest Regional Conference – St. Louis,
MO, November 20-22, 2002
Conference information, including program, hotel and registration information
is available online at www.leadmoldconferences.com.
Registration scholarships are available for non-profit, non-governmental
organizations. For scholarship information, contact Kim Levi at 800-590-6522.
**For information on the Alliance’s international programs and
worldwide prevention activities, please visit our Global Lead Network
website at www.globalleadnet.org**
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