The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) paid $3.7 million to a former resident who suffered lead-paint poisoning as a child last month, the Baltimore Sun reported. This takes the total amount shelled out by the agency to satisfy four lead-paint judgments to $4.6 million.
Similarly, in California, a Santa Clara court ordered the release of medical reports of thousands of children in a lead paint litigation. It's estimated that about 87 percent of Alameda County and the Bay area have lead-based paint under the surface layers, though lead was taken out of house paint in 1978, Equities.com reported.
Across the country, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, believes that there are close to four million households with children exposed to lead. Though incidence of lead poisoning has decreased over the past 20 years, it still affects close to 310,000 (1.6 percent) children between the ages of one through five.
Lead-paint poisoning is rampant among low-income families and families of color living in older, poorly maintained housing. For example, in the U.S., African-American children are two times more likely than white children to come in contact with lead, according to a recent study by the Alliance for Healthy Homes, a non-profit organization.
Even small amounts of lead can cause learning and behavioral problems, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued new guidelines to help housing providers reduce childhood lead poisoning.
"HUD is committed to providing healthier housing for all families," Jon L. Gant, Director of HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, said in a statement. "These guidelines will help communities around the nation protect families from lead exposure and other significant health and safety hazards."
These guidelines will help homeowners identify and control lead-based paint and related hazards in housing. It will also help property owners, government agencies, and private contractors sharply reduce childhood exposure to lead without unnecessarily increasing the cost of renovation, the HUD said in a statement.
These guidelines have been set up by taking into consideration regulations issued by the HUD, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and policies from the CDC.
