By David Ortiz
PBN Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE – In the latest development following a Rhode Island jury’s landmark verdict last year against three former lead paint manufacturers, R.I. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today filed a $2.4 billion plan to abate lead in 240,000 houses and buildings across the state.
The verdict against Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries and Millennium Holdings LLC, which came after six days’ deliberations and more than six years in court, was a major setback for an industry that has won dozens of similar lawsuits (READ MORE) and was seen as a precedent for other such lawsuits across the country.
The state drafted its R.I. Lead Nuisance Abatement Plan at the direction of Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein, who presided over the trial. The plan prioritizes the abatement, identifies abatement treatment options and spells out how the abatement program should be sequenced and administered.
It addresses problem properties on a “worst first” priority basis and is designed to respect the needs of both property owners and occupants, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
“Our plan offers a detailed, comprehensive and permanent solution to the generations-old, but still urgent, problem of lead poisoning in our state,” Lynch said in a news release today. “It achieves what has never before been achieved, either here in Rhode Island or nationally – a long-term solution that will, ultimately, bring about true primary prevention. Our plan calls for houses and other properties to be identified and abated through measures that are designed to last for the life of the structure, thereby protecting children before they are harmed.”
Old, peeling lead paint and its dust have been found to cause neurological problems if ingested or inhaled. The danger is especially high for children, who are more likely to put paint chips or dusty toys in their mouths and whose nervous systems may also be more susceptible to lead paint poisoning than adults, health experts say.
Lynch inherited the case from his predecessor, U.S. Sen. Sheldon A. Whitehouse, and chose to keep going despite a 2002 hung jury. In February, Judge Silverstein denied the paint companies’ request for a new trial and said he would appoint a special master to help decide whether the companies must remove the paint or might just cover it up. (READ MORE)
The full R.I. Lead Nuisance Abatement Plan has been posted by R.I. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch’s office on its Web site, at www.riag.ri.gov.
