ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 15, 1996 TAG: 9611150070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A THREE-YEAR GRANT from the federal government to help pay for a lead-paint removal project was almost lost because it wasn't being used.
After nearly three years of delay, contractors hired by the state could begin removing hazardous lead paint from houses in 65 Virginia communities in March, a legislative panel was told Thursday.
Problems that prompted the federal government to threaten to withdraw a $5.4million grant for the project are being corrected, said Robert Richards, a state Department of Housing and Community Development deputy director.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development said last summer that the state was in danger of losing the three-year grant, which expires June 30, because the money was not being spent.
``We have asked HUD for an extension, and we believe they are going to give it to us,'' Richards told the joint subcommittee studying the abatement of lead-based paint. ``We won't need more money from them, just more time.''
Richards said the state will award contracts in January to contractors and ``risk assessors'' - people who will go into houses to determine whether lead paint poses a health hazard.
The state Health Department says lead-based paint is in about 1.8 million Virginia homes built before 1978, when lead paint was banned for residential use.
About 40,000 Virginia children younger than 6 suffer from lead poisoning, the Health Department said in a Feb. 28 report to Gov. George Allen and the General Assembly.
Young children are hurt most because lead they ingest from eating paint chips or lead dust they inhale targets their delicate neurological systems. Lead poisoning is associated with lower IQ, reading disabilities, hyperactivity and reduced hand-eye coordination. Massive lead levels can stunt growth or damage the brain.
Paul Sandman, environmental health coordinator for the Virginia Department of Health, said about one in six children from low-income families have lead poisoning. Among other children, the rate is one in 24.
Richards said state officials are still working with HUD on the level of abatement that will be conducted. He said contractors could wash and repaint houses for about $6,000 each. If more thorough steps are required, such as replacing windows and doors, the cost will be much higher.
Among the problems that stymied the program for the last couple of years, Richards said, was a federal requirement that only inspectors and contractors certified as lead abatement experts be used. ``There were not many,'' he said.
The General Assembly had to create a program to certify contractors for removing lead paint. The legislature passed such a bill in 1994.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB