Lead Based Paint

MSU Today Michigan State University, MI

Lead exposure from contaminated water has gotten much justifiable attention lately, but another major source lurks in the dust of countless older homes. Researchers at the MSU College of Human Medicine are conducting a study of whether portable air filters can mitigate lead exposure and reduce lead levels in the blood of children who live in older houses. The 3-year study supported by a HUD grant will include 40 families who live in housing built in Ingham County before 1970 and have children under six years of age with blood lead levels above five micrograms per deciliter. 

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CDC Washington, DC

The negative impact of lead exposure on young children and those who become pregnant is well documented but is not well known by those at highest risk from this hazard. Scientific evidence suggests that there is no known safe blood lead level (BLL), because even small amounts of lead can be harmful to a child’s developing brain. During a May 2021 meeting of the LEPAC, the workgroup recommended that the BLRV be updated from 5 µg/dL to 3.5 µg/dL using data derived from the two most recent NHANES cycles (2015–2016 and 2017–2018), and the LEPAC voted unanimously to accept this recommendation. 

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EPA  Washington, DC

EPA announced its intent to improve compliance and strengthen enforcement of the lead-based paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule as it applies to property management companies (PMCs) that perform, offer, or claim to perform regulated renovations without certification from the EPA in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities. The notice explains the circumstances where a PMC must obtain certification from the EPA and ensure that renovations in the homes they manage are performed by certified firms and employees trained to use lead-safe work practices. 

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Government Accountability Office (GAO) National

GAO found that the Housing Choice Voucher program had 1.1 million voucher holders living in units built before 1978, the year the U.S. banned lead paint in housing. Of these units, roughly 171,000 were occupied by approximately 229,000 young children (under age 6)––putting these children at an increased risk of lead exposure. The voucher program requires visual assessments for identifying deteriorated paint, with no testing of paint or dust. Any change to stricter evaluation methods would need to consider that certain states have a larger portion of pre-1978 voucher units occupied by families with young children. 

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Government Accountability Office (GAO) National

GAO found that the Housing Choice Voucher program had 1.1 million voucher holders living in units built before 1978, the year the U.S. banned lead paint in housing. Of these units, roughly 171,000 were occupied by approximately 229,000 young children (under age 6)––putting these children at an increased risk of lead exposure. The voucher program requires visual assessments for identifying deteriorated paint, with no testing of paint or dust. Any change to stricter evaluation methods would need to consider that certain states have a larger portion of pre-1978 voucher units occupied by families with young children. 

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Courthouse News by Carson McCullough

National – EPA’s current standards regarding the dangers of exposure to deteriorating lead paint are flimsy to stand and require some serious reworking, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday. The ruling follows a lengthy legal battle between the EPA and a number of environmental advocacy groups over the current hazard standards linked to lead exposure from paint. For decades, lead paint was used in homes, schools and other public works across the country. Lead-based paint was ultimately banned in the 1970s when it became clear how toxic the paint chips and peelings are for children, though millions of older structures containing lead paint still stand today. 

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Door and Window Market

Kansas City, MO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached settlements with six residential home renovators in Missouri for alleged violations of lead-based paint regulations under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. The settlements include Kansas City area renovators Montgall LLC and Karin Ross Designs LLC; Woodard Cleaning and Restoration Inc., Starke Inc., and City Restoration & Revival LLC, all from the St. Louis area; and Springfield-based renovator The Window Dudes LLC. For the full article, click here.

DCW50 by Abigail Hillerich

Baltimore, MD – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently seized 598 girl’s bicycles in Baltimore that were coated in “excessive levels of harmful lead paint,” according to CBP. The Dripe-X bikes were shipped from China and on their way to San Bernardino, Calif., valued at $84,000. When the bikes arrived at the border, CPSC took samples, testing them for potential lead content. After the tests were returned, indicating the bikes had high levels of lead content in the paint, they were seized. Click here for the full text.

EPA National

EPA and the Department of Justice announced a proposed nationwide settlement with Home Depot resolving alleged violations of the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule at home renovations performed by Home Depot’s contractors across the country. The States of Utah, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, which have EPA-authorized RRP programs, are joining the United States in this action. The settlement requires Home Depot to implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide program to ensure that the firms and contractors it hires to perform work are certified and trained to use lead-safe work practices to avoid spreading lead dust and paint chips during home renovation activities. Home Depot will also pay a $20.75 million penalty, the highest civil penalty obtained to date for a settlement under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Click here for the full text.