A new Lead Based Paint initiative, involving a variety of
stakeholders, is receiving much attention in Boston. The project called Lead
Safe Boston, is also a project XL partnership, involving the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. Massachusetts has been well ahead of other
states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in maximizing lead safe
initiatives, to minimize the exposure to lead paint in child occupied housing.
The initiative with the EPA also includes involvement of the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Boston Department of
Neighborhood and Development, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. The initiative will help make use of alternative methods of
managing lead based paint debris, to help minimize the cost of lead safe
abatement projects. Lead Safe means that not all lead paint has to be removed,
but, that hazards are abated and remaining lead paint is maintained in good
condition. The Program will seek to provide maximum corroboration of state
agencies and private organizations to prevent lead poisoning of young children
while working to control lead hazards in Boston’s highest risk areas.
We at RT salute Boston for stepping out on this important
initiative. Recent findings that exposure to lead hazards is not limited to
children after they are born (see the accompanying article by Chris Eyre on page
5), means that lead hazards are now more important to be aware of, than ever
before. We congratulate Boston for increasing awareness and choosing to act on
this important issue, which is also moving toward the top of EPA’s future
enforcement agenda.
