ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY UPDATE ARTICLES

BOSTON'S STEPPING OUT TO BE LEAD SAFE

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.