Subj: Mrs. Gore, Cuomo and Browner Announce Clinton Administration Campaign For
a Lead
Date: 97-11-19 16:40:45 EST
From: News
BCC: Jluckhardt
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clinton Administration today
launched a campaign to protect America's children from the health hazards of
lead-based paint with $50 million in aid to localities, a public education
program and a new agreement to develop a national enforcement strategy for
lead paint disclosure requirements.
The Campaign for a Lead-Safe America -- and its slogan, "Take the Lead
Against Lead" -- was announced by Tipper Gore, Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Carol Browner at a White House news conference.
HUD, EPA, state and local governments, and industry, environmental and
public health groups will work in partnership in the campaign to protect the
nation's children from lead poisoning.
Nearly 5 percent of American children ages 1-5 suffer from lead
poisoning
-- amounting to almost 1 million children. Among low-income children living
in older housing, 16 percent suffer from lead poisoning. For African American
children living in older housing, the lead poisoning rate soars to 22 percent.
"If we can keep 1 million children from suffering from lead poisoning
by
the simple act of removing lead-based paint hazards and educating Americans
everywhere, this Administration can continue our progress on behalf of our
children's health," said Mrs. Gore, who chairs the Campaign for a Lead-Safe
America. "Like all good solutions -- this one is simple. Let's take the lead
against lead-based paint."
"America's children need and deserve our protection from lead
poisoning,"
Cuomo said. "Our goal is to eliminate this terrible -- and totally preventable
-- environmental hazard so that more children have the opportunity for healthy
lives."
"Today's announcement is based on a central philosophy of the ClintonGore
Administration, that the American people have a right to know about any health
hazards in their home and in their communities," Browner said. "Given the
tools to make their own decisions, we believe parents will take the right
course of action in protecting their children from lead poisoning. The new
enforcement strategy and public education campaign will give parents those
tools."
High blood levels of lead can cause permanent damage to the nervous
system
and widespread health problems. Effects include reduced intelligence and
attention span, hearing loss, stunted growth, reading and learning problems,
and behavior difficulties.
Lead is most hazardous to children under age six, because their stilldeveloping nervous systems are particularly vulnerable. In addition, their
normal play activities can expose them to lead-contaminated dust, soil and
paint chips.
The $50 million in HUD grants announced today will help private owners
of
low-income housing built before 1978 (when lead-based paint was outlawed as a
health hazard) to remove lead-based paint hazards, which can include leadcontaminated paint, dust and soil.
In addition, the funds can be used for blood testing of young
children,
inspection and testing of homes for lead hazards, temporary relocation of
families during lead control work, community education and outreach, and
collection and analysis of data on lead hazards.
The $50 million in grants will go to these 25 state and local
governments:
Akron (OH) -- $2.5 million; Alameda County (CA) -- $1.4 million; Baltimore -$2 million; Boston -- $642,000; Butte-Silver Bow (MT) -- $558,000; Cuyahoga
County (OH) -- $1.5 million; District of Columbia -- $2.2 million; Grand
Gateways Economic Development Association (OK) -- $1.4 million; Harris County
(TX) -- $2.2 million; Houston -- $2 million; Lawrence (MA) -- $2.9 million;
Long Beach (CA) -- $2 million; Los Angeles -- $2.9 million; Lynchburg (VA) -$2.3 million; Manchester (CT) -- $2 million; Monroe County (NY) -- $1.7
million; New Hampshire -- $2.9 million; Phoenix -- $2 million; Portland (ME) - $1.4 million; Portland (OR) -- $2.9 million; East Providence (RI) -- $1.6
million; Richmond (CA) -- $2.3 million; Richmond (VA) -- $2 million; St. Louis
-- $2.9 million; and Springfield (MA) -- $1.8 million.
The new public education program unveiled today will feature: public
service advertising in publications throughout the nation; videos featuring
Sesame Street characters; educational materials distributed by major hardware
retailers (Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears and ACE) in over 6,000 stores;
distribution of an illustrated book called Maintaining a Lead-Safe Home to
3,500 libraries; distribution of a new interactive video training course for
maintenance workers to teach them to do their work safely; and campaigns
involving the National Association of Realtors, the Consumer Federation of
America and other groups.
In addition, HUD and EPA are jointly funding a toll-free phone line
(1-800-424-LEAD) to give callers information about lead hazards and about
disclosure requirements for people selling and renting homes. Information is
also available on HUD's internet site at www.hud.gov/lea/leahome.html and on
EPA's site at www.epa.gov/opptinter
By alerting parents to the dangers of lead-based paint, the education
campaign is designed to help parents avoid exposing their children and
themselves to lead. The tag line on the public service material is: "Learn
before you rent, buy or renovate."
HUD and EPA announced they have entered into a memorandum of
understanding
that will serve as the basis for a nationwide enforcement strategy to be
unveiled in the future that will ensure compliance with a federal "right to
know" requirement about lead-based paint. This "right to know" rule requires
home sellers and landlords to disclose known lead hazards to prospective
homebuyers and tenants, so people can protect their families from exposure to
lead.
An estimated 64 million homes and apartment units in the United States
built before 1978 are covered by the lead-based paint disclosure rule. About
20 million of these dwellings have lead-based paint in a hazardous condition.
About 3.8 million dwellings with lead-based paint are currently occupied by
children under age six.
An estimated 9 million new tenants and 3 million homebuyers should
receive
information under the "right to know" disclosure rule each year.
The rule also requires that sellers and landlords of most housing
built
before 1978 give buyers and tenants a pamphlet about lead-based paint hazards,
and requires that prospective homebuyers be given the opportunity to inspect a
home for lead-based paint before signing a sales contract.
Cities with high concentrations of homes with potential lead hazards
will
be targeted for special attention under a nationwide enforcement and
compliance strategy that will be developed by EPA and HUD, including:
Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Detroit,
Houston, Indianapolis, Jersey City, Los Angeles, New York City, New Orleans,
Oakland (CA), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Minneapolis/St. Paul,
Richmond (VA), Rochester (NY), St. Louis, San Francisco, Savannah (GA),
Washington, and Youngstown (OH). HUD will work with health departments in each
of these 25 cities to seek their assistance in providing information about
lead poisoning cases, to further the compliance strategy.
At their announcement of the Campaign for a Lead-Safe America, Mrs.
Gore,
Cuomo and Browner were joined by Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and by Margaret
Sauser, who is President of National United Parents Against Lead, founder of
United Parents Against Lead of Michigan and the mother of two young sons who
have suffered serious health problems from lead poisoning.
"Lead paint poisoning is a major health problem in older American
cities,"
Schmoke said. "Combatting this problem through innovative public-private
partnerships must be a national priority."
Jon and Margaret Sauser's sons -- Jonathan, now age 9, and Cameron,
age 6,
-- suffered lead poisoning after the couple renovated a 67-year-old home they
purchased in 1990 in Kalamazoo, MI. The Sausers didn't know that the old
layers of paint they removed from the home and garage contained lead, and
spread invisible lead dust through the home. They were also unaware that old
lead pipes in their home contaminated their water with lead.
The lead poisoning caused Jonathan to experience behavior problems,
learning difficulties, insomnia, stomach problems, and other ailments.
Cameron, who was born into the lead-contaminated home, experienced slowed
growth, difficulties with speech and motor skills, and other problems.
After learning of the lead contamination of their home three years
after
they moved in, the Sausers moved and declared bankruptcy when they were told
they would be unable to sell the contaminated home.
"If only we had known in 1990 what we know now about lead, our sons
would
never have been poisoned," Mrs. Sauser said. "No parent and no child should
have to go through this. By making more parents aware of the dangers of lead,
this new federal initiative will benefit children around the nation. Our
precious youth must no longer remain our lead detectors. We must find the
lead before it finds our children."
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LOCAL GRANTS SEE HUD WEBSITE OR CALL HUD.
Grant Recipients
Recipient
Project Location
Award Amount
The Neighborhood
Phoenix, Arizona
$2,000,000
Services Department
The City of Phoenix has been awarded a lead-based paint hazard
control grant to reduce lead paint hazards in 215 homes in five
neighborhoods in Phoenix. A local match of $699,042 has been
pledged for a total grant amount of $2,699,042. The program is
a joint effort of the City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services
Department, the Maricopa County Department of Health Services,
the Arizona Department of Health Services, and neighborhood
associations. This grant will enable the city to raise public
awareness while concentrating on blood screening, education,
social services, health care case management, environmental
assessment, and remediation efforts.
The City of Long
Long Beach,
$2,000,000
Beach Department of California
Health and Human
Services
This grant will abate lead hazards in 305 family-occupied
housing units in the City of Long Beach. In addition, it will
create an environment and a demand for lead hazard control that
will provide property owners with an incentive to share in the
he cost of these activities.
City of Los Angeles Los Angeles,
$2,900,000
California
The Los Angeles Housing Department will administer the grant
program by funding removal of assembly components and plaster
walls coated with lead-based paint, waste characterization and
disposal and three sets of dust wipe tests. In addition they
will distribute literature on lead poisoning prevention and
brochures about the lead hazard control program. The grant
will also cover blood lead tests for children under six
residing in units scheduled for grant-funded lead hazard
treatments.
City of Richmond
Richmond, California $2,300,000
This grant will implement the Project REAL (Richmond Effort to
Abate Lead) as a comprehensive program to reduce the hazards of
lead in privately owned housing units in severely economically
distressed and minority communities. Project REAL will conduct
lead hazard control activities in a minimum of 160 housing
units in three targeted neighborhoods.
City of Manchester
Manchester,
$2,000,000
Connecticut
This grant will assist owners with correcting code violations.
Lead testing of units, blood screening, abatement/management
plans and relocation will be underwritten for program
participants. Historic preservation will receive special
attention and development. In addition, new measures will aim
at higher performance and participation by construction
contractors.
District of Columbia Washington, D.C.
$2,200,000
This project will target 1,375 housing units in Wards 1,2,4,5
and 6, which comprises 70% of the pre-1950 housing stock in
D.C. These are also the Wards which consistently show the
highest percentage of children with elevated blood levels.
The grant will also provide for the development of programs to
heighten the public's understanding of the hazards of leadbased paint.
City of Portland
Portland, Maine
$1,400,000
There are approximately 31,293 housing units in the City, over
half of which were constructed prior to 1950. Since 1992,
Portland's Public Health Division has documented that 93% of
all lead poisoning cases have occurred in these pre-1950 rental
buildings. Portland expects to conduct lead hazard reduction
in 120 units within the three-year grant period. The City of
Portland will also continue its community awareness and
educational efforts by participating in home buyer training
programs, counseling of tenants, case management of families
with lead poisoned children and other community awareness
programs.
City of Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland
$2,000,000
The primary goal of this grant is to reduce lead-poisoning
through the abatement of 200 housing units and to provide
employment opportunities in distressed communities of the city.
The program emphasis for this effort will focus on multi-family
properties. This will allow the City to protect children in a
shorter period of time.
City of Lawrence
Lawrence,
$2,900,000
Massachusetts
This grant will provide resources to a consortium of four
agencies that have extensive experience in providing technical
assistance and financial resources to low-income families in
five high-risk cities in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts
High-Risk Consortium consists of: City of Lawrence, City of
Chelsea, Brockton (under Self Help Inc.), and Fall River/New
Bedford (under UMASS/Dartmouth Lead Program).
City of Springfield Springfield,
$1,800,000
Massachusetts
The City of Springfield has been working cooperatively with the
neighboring cities of Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield, in a
regional initiative to create and implement effective
strategies for addressing the issue of lead-based paint
hazards. Funds will be targeted to those neighborhoods in each
community which contain both the oldest housing stock and the
greatest concentration of low- and very-low income families
with children. Hazardous waste disposal, inspections,
outreach, education and relocation will also be part of this
grant program.
City of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
$2,900,000
This grant program will be a collaborative effort of the
Community Development Agency and the Department of Health and
Hospitals. The efforts include a Primary Prevention Risk
Reduction Project to identify children at risk of lead
poisoning. The grant anticipates 600 children will be enrolled
in this program. The City reports that the incidence of lead
poisoning is six times the national rate.
New Hampshire
State of New
$2,900,000
Housing Finance
Hampshire
Authority (NHHFA)
NHHFA will administer its grant through multi-family
comprehensive rehabilitation and complete lead abatement.
NHHFA will collaborate with the New Hampshire Department of
Health and Human Services, Office of Health Management, in the
development of a strategy to educate property owners and
tenants about the potential hazards of lead-based paint.
The County of Monroe State of New York
$1,700,000
The County of Monroe, which includes the City of Rochester,
will use its grant to provide screening of children, medical
management, environmental investigation, pursuit of abatement
(including enforcement), and health education.
City of Akron
Akron, Ohio
$2,500,000
The Akron Health Department, which will be acting as the lead
agency for the Akron Lead-based Paint Hazard Control Program,
will reduce the lead hazards in at least 100 homes of low-tomoderate income families with children under the age of six.
In addition, the grant will allow for tenant relocation, and
outreach and educational initiatives.
Cuyahoga County
State of Ohio
$1,500,000
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health, in partnership with the
Cuyahoga County Department of Development, plans to expand
their current lead hazard control efforts in the first ring of
communities of Cleveland, Ohio. Cuyahoga plans to conduct
approximately 1,400 door-to-door visits in the target census
tracts to educate residents about lead poisoning.
City of Portland
Portland, Oregon
$2,900,000
The grant will enable the city to do lead hazard control work
in 600 low-to moderate-income housing units. In addition, the
city will provide community awareness, education and outreach
to homeowners, homeowner occupants, landlords and the general
public.
City of East
Providence, Rhode
$1,600,000
Providence
Island
Rhode Island has some of the highest rates of childhood lead
poisoning in the country and the State has dealt aggressively
with the issue by taking steps in its prevention through the
passing of legislation and the creation of community-based
educational programs. The City of East Providence will use its
grant for inspection and lead hazard control, a public
education and awareness program, and a job training program.
Harris County
State of Texas
$2,200,000
This grant will fund the screening of children in targeted
areas (cities of Baytown, Pasadena, Galena Park, Jacinto City,
and La Porte as well as the areas of Aldine, Cloverleaf,
McNair, Barrett Station, and Channelview) through outreach to
schools, health care providers, and mobile clinics of the
Harris County Health Department. The County expects that
10,000 children will be screened as part of this program.
City of Houston
Houston, Texas
$2,000,000
The City of Houston will use its grant to prepare for leadhazard reduction including: identifying and pre-qualifying
housing units; identifying potential contractors and candidates
for state-certified training; requesting contractor
qualifications and negotiating contracts. Families will be
relocated to lead-safe housing when it is determined that the
lead hazard education will compromise their health and safety.
City of Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia
$2,300,000
This grant will be administered by a collaborative
organization, the Lynchburg Lead Initiatives representing the
City of Lynchburg, several non-profit organizations, and
several local colleges. 200 houses will be abated in the
inner-city areas of highest risk. The program will also
provide support services to residents of the targeted areas
which include education, case management, skills training, and
economic development.
City of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
$2,000,000
The Richmond City Department of health in collaboration with
the Richmond City Department of Community Development will
manage this grant. The goal is to reduce lead poisoning in
children through the identification and abatement of lead
hazard in 300 housing units in targeted zones in the city. The
target zones are the East District, North District, and South
District of the city which have the oldest housing stock,
lowest income levels, and highest number of children under the
age of six.
Superfund or Brownfield Sites
Recipient
Project Location
Award Amount
Alameda County
State of California
$1,400,000
This grant will remediate 120 residences at the Verdes Carter
Park Superfund site. The funding will remediate residential
lead hazards, thereby affording the community an opportunity to
overcome the remaining impediment to fulfilling its search for
environmental justice.
City of Boston
Boston,
$ 642,000
Massachusetts
The City of Boston will use its grants to remediate Brownfields
sites that will become the site of 77 units of newly
constructed, lead safe housing surrounded by lead safe yards.
In addition, the city will make existing housing lead safe,
reducing risk to the inhabitants and the neighboring
properties/families.
Butte-Silver Bow
State of Montana
$ 558,000
County
This grant will provide for 14 large-scale abatements and 10
abatements of limited scope (i.e., replacement of windows,
painting, cleaning) to be completed during the first two years
of grant activity. The grant will also expand current program
activities to specifically address renter-occupied units
housing young children.
Grand Gateways
State of Oklahoma
$1,400,000
Economic Development
Association
Grand Gateways Economic Development Association will take a
two-pronged approach to lead remediation: Identifying all
houses of the 3,202 in the area for lead contamination and
working with Indian Health Services, Ottawa Health Department
and Ottawa University Health Services Center to identify
children with elevated blood levels and to test their homes.
CO: HUD; EPA
ST: District of Columbia
IN: ENV
SU: