D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has announced the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city more than $2.9 million to help homeowners and landlords protect children and families from potentially dangerous lead-based paint.
The D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will apply the funds to the city’s Lead Safe Washington Program (LSW) program to cover grants to homeowners and landlords to identify and remove lead-based paint risks. Deteriorated lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust present significant health hazards to individuals of all ages, but especially children younger than six years old.
Living in dwellings where lead-based paint is peeling, flaking and crumbling can result in untreatable damage to the brain and other organs and the lowering of IQs.
The HUD awards come just two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised a 20-year-old threshold for what it considers harmful levels of lead from 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to 5 micrograms.
“Since 2004, the Lead Safe Washington Program has removed lead-based paint hazards from more than 600 homes,” Gray said in a May 29 statement. “Thanks to this grant from HUD, the Department of Housing and Community Development will be able to continue this vital service protecting families and children who may be affected by lead-based paint hazards in high-risk homes.”
According to HUD, roughly 24 million U.S. homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today, although lead-based paints have been banned since 1978.
The funds awarded to the District are expected to address potential lead hazards in more than 200 housing units in the District and will cover the full cost of lead hazard abatement. Only dwellings that have been inspected by federally certified lead risk assessors are eligible for the city program.
For homeowners to be eligible for lead abatement assistance, household income has to be no more than 80 percent of the area’s median annual income.
For landlords, eligibility is based on the income of the residents of the household to be treated. At least half of the units in a multi-family dwelling must have household incomes no more than 50 percent of the area median income.
Although vacant dwellings are grant-eligible, the owner must agree to try to rent them to families with household incomes at or below the 50 percent of median income threshold.
However, the program does not cover efficiency units, the city housing department statement said, noting “only units that are considered appropriate for households that have children, particularly under the age of six, are eligible.”
More details about the Lead Safe Washington Program are available at dhcd.dc.gov. E-mail inquiries should be directed to lsw@dc.gov or call 202-442-7279.