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Should we GET the LEAD OUT?
On Getting Out the Lead
I am a new resident of Mt. Hope, but have been a homeowner for a long time. When my daughter was very young, we lived in Massachusetts, where lead laws were quite firm, so I did not have to worry. I am currently in nursing school, and through one of our projects I got involved in studying the issue of childhood Lead poisoning. Lead is found in soil, water, paint dust, and other sources, and is damaging to every organ of the body but specifically damaging to the brain development of young children.
Lead paint was used in painting houses prior to 1978. Lead poisoning is more prevalent in older homes, which have not been kept up. It was disturbing to see the Rhode Island statistics for Lead poisoning. Even though the rates have increased in the past 10 years, they are still twice as high as the national rate. The rates are even higher in core cities (where children's poverty level are above 15%) like Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick, and Woonsocket.
The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Law of 1991 allowed for screening of children under 6, and treating the significantly poisoned children.
The Lead Hazard Mitigation Law of 2004 was designed to prevent lead poisoning in children and pregnant women. It requires that owners of rental properties built before 1978 get a certificate of conformance, give tenants information about lead hazards, respond to tenants concerns, and keep the certificate current. They are required to attend a 3 hour class, inspect their property for lead hazard, and fix the hazards found during the inspection. They will in turn receive tax credit for inspecting and keeping the property lead
safe.
This bill was supposed to take effect on July 1, 2005. An amended version of the bill was passed on June 30th, exempting properties where the elderly or college students live (along with other exemptions), and will now take effect on November 1.
Whether homeowners or tenants, it is important to keep in mind that this is a very preventable problem, which gone untreated, has devastating implications, not only for the health of our children, but for the cost of our healthcare.
Shabnam Hashemi
Posted at July 1, 2005 04:27 PM