Companies Face Fines for Lead Paint Disclosure Violations at Two Navy Bases in New England

Two companies face a possible fine of $153,070 for violating lead paint disclosure laws at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine and the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asserts in its complaint that Northeast Housing, LLC and Balfour Beatty Military Housing Management, LLC failed on multiple occasions over several years to notify prospective tenants, including families with young children, about potential lead paint hazards in housing. Notifying prospective tenants and purchasers of housing units helps parents protect young children from exposure to lead-based paint hazards. Read more about this story here.

 

 

Get the Lead Out: Panel Wants Kids’ Limits Halved – NPR

The Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention recently recommended that the amount of lead in a child’s blood that determines dangerous lead exposure should be cut in half.  The CDC, an organization that collaborates to create the expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health, still needs to approve this recommendation. The advisory committee recommends that the current standard of 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood be reduced to 5 micrograms for ages 5 and below. This would be a big step, as it would result in double the number of young children in the United States officially considered to have lead poisoning to almost 500,000. Read more about this article here. Access the CDC Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention’s report on the hazards of low level lead exposure in children here.

Philadelphia to Require Lead-Paint Testing in Rental Housing with Young Children

Philadelphia recently passed a bill requiring its landlords to test for the presence of lead paint in homes that are rented to families with children ages six and under. Owners of rental property occupied by families with young children must certify that the property has been tested and found to be free of lead paint hazards. Read more about this story here.

Boston Globe: US preparing to cut aid for lead poisoning prevention efforts

Programs to fight lead poisoning in Massachusetts have been slashed and now Congress is poised to eliminate the remaining federal aid – even as scientists last month concluded that the toxic metal can harm children at half the levels previously though. States around the country, including Illinois, are experiencing the same. Read more about this story here.

 

Dangerous lead levels found in nearly two-third of New Orleans homes, Tulane study says

A new study says nearly two-thirds of New Orleans homes and yards have “dangerous” levels of lead, according to federal standards, a finding the authors believe may be linked to the extensive renovation and demolition of homes after Hurricane Katrina. Read more about this story here.

Guide to State and Local Advocacy for Healthy Housing

The Center for Disease Control’s  Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program faces funding cuts and possibly elimination by Congress.  The most effective way to protect this vital program is to make sure your Members of Congress hear from you directly. This guide will explain the message and how to do deliver it most effectively. Click here to view the National Center for Healthy Housing’s other advocacy resources.

Lead poisoning in 2,000 Nigerian children

Although there is still much work to be done, and the United States has taken steps to eliminate childhood lead poisoning and numbers are going down, in other parts of the world children are still dying due to lead. Read more about this story here.

Rebuilding in Joplin, Missouri, halts due to lead contamination

Last week Joplin, Missouri, city officials requested approximately $7.5 million in federal aid to remedy lead contamination that the devastating May 22 tornado stirred up. Not only did the deadly twister rip apart structures that contained lead, but it also disrupted soil under homes constructed on abandoned lead mines, according to a letter sent by city officials to the Environmental Protection Agency. Read more about this story here.

UN: Leaded fuel to be gone by 2013

The United Nations Environment Program recently announced that leaded gasoline is expected to be eradicated globally within two years. Leaded gasoline is still used in six nations. Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, North Korea, Myanmar, and Yemen are expected to complete the phase-out by 2013. Read more about this story here.

 

Maryland court strikes down landlord protection in lead paint law

Maryland’s highest court struck down a key provision of state law that shielded owners of older rental housing from civil lawsuits, and potentially costly payments to victims, if they took precautions to protect children in their units from lead-paint poisoning.  Read more about this story here.