The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded 23 local and state agencies a total of more than $52 million to target lead based paint health hazards.
The Lead Based Paint Hazard Control grants target nearly 2,900 low-income homes with significant lead problems.
“This round of funding includes awards to five cities and states that are receiving grant awards for the first time. We are pleased the program is expanding into these previously unserved communities,” said Michelle M. Miller, acting director of HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, in a prepared statement.
Lead hazards affect the health of millions of Americans in all regions. According to the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition, 24 million homes in the U.S. have significant lead‐based paint hazards.
According to a new expose by CityLab, President Bill Clinton’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children determined that HUD would require a minimum budget of $230 million a year to protect children from lead poisoning. Funding is needed for lead screenings and to prevent lead exposure.
Housing improvements that prevent lead based paint injuries and illnesses can reduce healthcare costs and improve quality of life. The lead based paint exposure problem is one that many see as fixable.
Ruth Ann Norton, president and chief executive officer of Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, told CityLab that with the proposed Clinton-era budget, lead poisoning from lead based paint could be fixed in about five years.
