HUD seeks rule change for lead in children’s blood

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is proposing a rule change that would lower the department’s threshold of lead found in a child’s blood to that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a new reference level that has the potential to affect 2.9 million housing units built before 1978, when lead paint was banned.
The proposed rule change, announced last week, would lower the threshold presence of lead in a child’s blood from 20 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to five micrograms and would be reset in the future to continue matching the CDC recommendations.
The proposal recognizes that physicians and researchers accept that no amount of lead in a child’s blood can be considered safe, according to HUD Secretary Julian Castro.
If a child under the age of 6 resides in HUD-assisted housing and experiences elevated blood levels of lead, the housing provider would be required to report the case to HUD so the department can launch an investigation to determine how the child was exposed.
If it is determined the lead-based paint or lead-contaminated soil is the cause of the child’s exposure, the housing provider would have to clean up the hazards.
The proposed rule will be open for public comment for the next 60 days. Comments may be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov.

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