Community Development Projects and Lead
If a project involving residential housing built before 1978 is to receive assistance from the Department of Community Development, lead rules apply. HUD regulations require a lead risk assessment which includes surface testing of painted surfaces with an XRF (x-ray fluorescence) machine and dust and soil samples. After the property is rehabilitated and before occupancy of a dwelling unit, a lead dust clearance test is required. A licensed lead abatement contractor or certified lead safe renovators must be utilized for all lead work. The work must also comply with the stipulations of the existing contract with the City of Cincinnati.
Contact Aisha Tzillah of the Department of Community Development at (513) 352-4982 to obtain more information.
Source of Lead Exposure in the Environment
The main source of lead poisoning is lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust found in deteriorating buildings. Lead-based paints were banned for use in housing in 1978. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, approximately 24 million housing units in the United States have deteriorated leaded paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated household dust. More than 4 million of these dwellings are homes to one or more children. In the United States, children from low-income families are eight times more likely to get lead poisoned. Children from all social and economic levels can be affected by lead poisoning, although children living at or below poverty line who live in older housing are at greatest risk.
Children are exposed from playing in contaminated home environment. The home may be contaminated even if it appears to be “clean”. Both inside and outside the home, deteriorated lead-paint mixes with household dust and soil and becomes tracked in. Children may become lead-poisoned by putting their hands or other lead-contaminated objects into their mouths, eating paint chips, or playing in contaminated soil. Few children become lead poisoned by eating paint chips. Typically, children are poisoned by exposure to lead-contaminated household dust. Lead contamination in the home comes primarily from old lead-based paint that is deteriorating or rubbed off friction surfaces such as windows and doors. If any children under the age of six resides in the pre-1978 housing or regularly visits any pre-1978 housing for day care or otherwise (grandparents, friends house, etc.), get them tested for lead.
If a building was constructed before 1978, there is a possibility lead-based paint was used in the painting of the building. Typically, buildings built before 1950 have an even greater chance of having lead-based painted surfaces. To determine whether or not lead-based paint exists in a building, a lead risk assessment or lead-based paint inspection performed by licensed lead risk assessors, which may include surface testing with an XRF (x-ray fluorescence) machine, dust samples, or laboratory paint-chip analysis, must be conducted.
If you have orders issued on your property for lead abatement or would like to get your child tested for lead poisoning or would like to borrow a HEPA vacuum cleaner, please contact the Cincinnati Health Department Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at (513) 357-7420. See the links below for more information.
History of Lead
Health Effects of Lead and How to Reduce Exposure
Planning to Buy, Rent, Remodel or Renovate a Home Built Before 1978?
Where is Lead Typically Found in Pre-1978 Homes?
Federal and State Definition for Lead Based Paint
Additional Resources
