Delaware is making new attempts to address lead exposure.
“57% of Delaware’s housing stock was constructed prior to the congressional ban on lead paint being enacted. And that means, in a majority of our homes, if they have not already been remediated, we have a risk. And that’s what makes this problem so dangerous, because it’s so pervasive and so invisible. It’s been so long since that congressional action that up until about a year ago many in the public were completely unaware of the risks that could exist in our homes, in our schools, and throughout society,” said State Senator Sarah McBride, referring to the 1978 federal ban on lead-based paint.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health, including hearing and speech problems, learning and behavior problems, slowed growth and development, and damage to the brain and nervous system.
In Delaware, lead has been found in homes and schools.
McBride’s new bill, SB 9, focuses on addressing lead exposure in homes- with a focus on rental properties.
If passed, it would create a system that would allow for quick remediation and abatement of homes with lead-based paint.
Part of this includes creating a fund dedicated to the abatement and remediation of lead-based paint hazards.
It also includes demanding more preventative actions.
If a child is found to have high blood lead levels, their home would be promptly screened and treated.
The duties of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Advisory Committee would be expanded to include a plan for inspection, if found to be necessary, the abatement or remediation of lead-based paint in all pre-1978 rental properties.
The bill would also work to ensure that landlords and local governments take quick action if abatement is necessary, and prohibit landlords of properties where the State has paid for lead-based paint abatement from raising rents on those properties for a period of 3 years.
McBride says lead paint issues disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
“Low-income families are most likely to live in rental units that were constructed prior to the ban on lead-based paint. And the types of units that are less likely to have already been remediated or addressed are those units in high poverty areas,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education is putting $3.8 million behind its “filter first” initiative to eliminate lead in school drinking water.
The funding will add water filtration systems in public schools after several rounds of testing found drinking water in 47 Delaware schools was above accepted standards for lead.
Education Secretary Mark Holodick says this is the next logical step toward getting lead in school drinking water to undetectable levels.
“This 3.8 is really meant to be a shot of adrenaline to say that this is absolutely critical. Let’s take what we’ve learned through this process and pivot over from sampling water to actually doing something about it,” said Holodick.
He says this is just the first step toward permanently addressing the issue, which may take several years as the state works to eliminate the lead at its source.
Delaware Health and Social Services Secretary Molly Magarik adds that the filters will not only serve as a great solution for significantly reducing lead levels in water, but it will also help filter out any other harmful chemicals that may enter the system.
Overall, she says both initiatives represent a huge step forward for the state.
“What we’ve learned in the last year, as well as what’s built into these initiatives, is a continued conversation. And continued efforts to get to non-detectable levels of lead in children, in their drinking water, and in their home environments,” said Magarik.
SB 9 awaits consideration from the Senate Health & Social Services committee.
