EPA cracks down on lead dust. Advocates say more is needed to help children already exposed

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule this week to protect kids from lead paint in homes and child care centers. Kids exposed to lead can have trouble learning, behavioral issues and poor kidney function.

Under the new EPA standards, any level of lead in dust that could be detected by your average EPA-recognized lab would trigger a cleanup. The state estimates more than half of all homes in Indiana were built before lead paint was banned in the late 1970s.

The standards will likely increase costs for landlords who rent out older homes, but the EPA said they’ve had decades to remove lead paint. Gabriel Filipelli agrees. He's a professor who studies lead at Indiana University and directs the IU Environmental Resilience Institute.

“We've been dragging our feet on this. Yes, it's expensive. Good things are expensive to achieve sometimes. And in this case, good thing is to protect children from dust that’s sourced from lead-based paint," he said.

Garry Holland, education chair of the Indianapolis NAACP, said landlords have known about the issue of lead paint for decades — but so has the EPA. He said the government should do more to help the people who have already been exposed — like children who are struggling in school.

“Type of civilization do we have when we know that we are harming children and we do nothing about it?” Holland said.

Though Indiana and federal government have some money available for people who own their homes, it’s likely not enough to clean up all the lead. Filipelli said hopefully, with this new rule, the funding will follow.

Earlier this month, the city of Indianapolis received a more than $1.2 million federal grant to hire staff for the city’s lead program, train contractors and make technology upgrades to help the city apply for further grant funding to abate lead.
 

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on climate solutions and climate change at ipbs.org/climatequestions.
 

The EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a memorandum of understanding this year that said the agencies would collaborate to enforce lead paint rules. Landlords could face penalties of up to $37,500 for violating the law.

Last year, Indiana tested the blood of more than 100,000 children for lead as part of a recent state law. About 1.7 percent of kids tested had elevated lead levels. According to a map from the Indiana Department of Health, the areas most at risk for childhood lead exposure in the state are inner cities and rural areas.

Oct. 20-26 is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. The EPA encourages parents to get their children tested for lead.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story said the city of Indianapolis received a more than $1.2 million federal grant to identify and clean up lead paint. For the purpose of clarity, it has been changed to list what the grant funds.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.