Local Lead Paint Help

A federal lead-hazard program in western New York’s GLOW region has been renewed for three more years, extending help for families trying to make older homes safer. (thedailynewsonline.com) The renewal covers Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties, and the Genesee County Health Department said the grant pays to find and fix lead-paint dangers and some other home health hazards. Gabrielle Lanich, lead program coordinator for the Genesee and Orleans county health departments, said the funding will let the program “keep helping more families.” (videonewsservice.net) The program applies to homes and apartments built before 1978, the year lead-based household paint was banned in the United States. Eligible households generally must meet income rules, have a child under 6 who lives there or visits at least eight hours a week, or include a pregnant resident. (geneseeny.gov) (videonewsservice.net) Lead paint becomes dangerous when it chips, peels or turns into dust during repairs or daily wear, and young children face the highest risk because their bodies and brains are still developing. The Genesee County Health Department says lead exposure can affect learning, attention and organ function, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-backed local program has focused its outreach on those risks since 2021. (videonewsservice.net) (geneseeny.gov) The grant is designed to pay for the kind of work that often stirs up lead dust in older housing, including lead-safe painting, window replacement, entry door replacement, porch repair, soil treatment and other general repairs tied to health and safety. All work is done by pre-approved local contractors trained in lead-safe practices. (videonewsservice.net) For landlords, the rules are tighter: owners must put up a 10% match, eligible properties can have up to four units, and owners must keep the property for at least five years after the project is finished. Owner-occupied homes do not require a financial match in the Genesee-Orleans version of the program described by county health officials. (videonewsservice.net) (geneseeny.gov) The region has been building this work for several years. Genesee County received a $1.3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant in January 2019 for Genesee and Orleans counties, with $1 million set aside for lead-hazard reduction and $300,000 for other health-related repairs, and the county later expanded that program beyond Batavia and Albion to all municipalities in those two counties. (geneseeny.gov) Federal rules treat lead abatement as specialized work in pre-1978 housing, and the Environmental Protection Agency says firms doing inspections, risk assessments and abatement must be trained and certified. New York is one of the states where the EPA directly administers that lead-based paint activities program. (epa.gov) Residents in the four-county GLOW region can now keep applying for inspections and repairs under the renewed grant, while local officials continue pushing blood-lead testing, home assessments and lead-safe renovation practices in older housing. (videonewsservice.net) (livingstoncountyny.gov)