Table of Contents

The Independent Budget Office (IBO) has released a fiscal brief on the law (as of January 2006). According to the report, the law has not been as costly as predicted nor does it appear to have hampered the city's ability to address other housing code violations. You can view the report in PDF format here.

New Local Law 1 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Law

Intro 101A, a bill to address lead poisoning prevention in housing, was passed by the Council on Monday, December 15 by a 44-5 vote. The Mayor vetoed the legislation on Friday, December 19, but the veto was overridden in January, and it has become the new Local Law 1 of 2003.

The new law toughens the standards that accompanied the previously passed Local Law 38 which was voided by a court action last summer. The new legislation raises the age of concern from 6 to 7; reduces the lead limits to .7m from 1.0m; sets standards for lead dust levels; defines lead hazards; presumes that all paint in pre-1960 buildings is lead; requires owners to prevent and correct lead hazards; requires owners to inspect and actively determine whether a child under 7 is in the apartment; and sets firm deadlines for city inspections and follow up to make sure that repairs are done.

Critics raised concerns about the unintended consequences of the legislation, including the elimination of loan funds to renovate apartment buildings, the loss of even minimal insurance coverage for lead, and drastic impacts on programs to transfer buildings to tenant groups and responsible private owners. The Community Preservation Corporation took a leading role in raising questions about the legislation with the City Council via a letter co-signed by leaders of various nonprofits and financial institutions.

UNHP did not co-sign that letter, but issued a joint letter with Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation raising several questions, most importantly whether insurance concerns had been investigated. Obtaining affordable and adequate coverage has become increasingly difficult over the past 3 years. Even prior to the World Trade Center attack, insurance prices had been rising. Since the attack the trend has intensified.

Fewer insurance companies are writing policies for older multi-family buildings at all and prices have more than doubled in the past two years. Banks and financial institutions like the Community Preservation Corporation require certain types of insurance including lead coverage; if such coverage is unavailable or un-affordable, owners with existing mortgages could default due to nonpayment or failure to meet the requirement of the mortgage, and applications for new financing would be rejected.

The joint letter endorsed the expanded tax abatement in the bill intended to partially cover the cost of additional repair work.

The law took effect August 2, 2004. Also known as Local Law 1 of 2004, the law extends to all pre-1960 multiple dwellings, and places specific responsibilities upon owners of rental housing to investigate and remediate lead-based paint hazards.

Local Law 1 Resources

The New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 2003 is a law that concerns the proper maintenance of lead-based paint, which was formally banned from sale in New York City in 1960, in order to reduce the harmful effects and prevalence of lead poisoning, which mainly affects the development of children under 7 years old. It outlines specific responsibilities of owners of rental housing to investigate and remediate lead-based paint hazards.

Click here for a copy of the law.

Click here for a very informative Section By Section Analysis.

Click here for the law's rules.

If you would like to know more about the law, how to legally comply, or what your responsibilities are, please consider taking an HPD Lead Education Class. Click here for more information about courses or call (212) 863-8830.

If you are a contractor, builder or construction worker, please follow the new Local Law 1 Rules Concerning Work Practices. Click here for the pamphlet.

If you are a developer or owner, you must notify the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at least 10 days before work that will disturb lead based paint takes place. Click here for the notification form.

For more information concerning the law, please contact John-Scott Johnson at johnsoj@hpd.nyc.gov.

The Issue: Lead Paint
Lead poisoning is the number one environment disease of U.S. children. Of the 20 million children under the age of six, an estimated 1.7 million (almost 9 percent) have blood lead levels at or above the "level of concern" established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This epidemic of lead poisoning is more widespread than any other preventable childhood disease.

Due to the importance of this issue and its impact on housing and residents in the Northwest Bronx, University Neighborhood has worked extensively over the past five years on the issue of lead abatement and lead poisoning prevention. The Northwest Bronx is comprised of community boards 5, 7, 8 and the Crotona neighborhood of Board 6. According to 1993 data from the Department of Health, these areas have the highest incidence of lead poisoning problems; older multifamily housing, a low income, young, and minority population, as well as deteriorated housing. UNHP has developed a broad-based agenda to reduce lead in dwellings and lead poisonings in the Northwest Bronx. UNHP staff has participated in policy discussions around the implementation of new lead abatement guidelines, has become trained and educated on the issue, and has obtained funding to give lead abatement and lead poisoning prevention trainings to every sector involved in housing.

What Is Lead?
Lead is a gray, heavy, toxic metal. Lead is a natural element and does not break down in the environment. Once lead has been dispersed and redeposited in the environment, it will remain to poison generations of children unless it is controlled or removed.

In average adults, 10-15 percent of lead that reaches the digestive tract is absorbed. Young children and pregnant women, however absorb as much as 50%. The body cannot distinguish.

The Pathways of Lead into the Body
As a result of the extensive use of lead over several centuries in the U.S., lead can be found in paint, dust soil, water, air and food. Lead based paint is the most common source of exposure for pre-school children. This does not mean eating chips of paint: dust generated by contact between surfaces can be lead contaminated. The primary source of lead exposure in the home is fine particles of lead-laden dust. Dust is generated when paint weathers or deteriorates; when paint is disturbed, especially during renovation; when paint is abraded off friction surfaces such as windows, doors, stairways, and floors; and when moisture problems cause paint deterioration.

The ingestion of lead contaminated surface dust is the most common pathway of childhood lead poisoning. Due to its small particle size, lead dust may not be visible to the naked eye and is difficult to clean up. Most commonly, lead dust gets on children's hands and toys and then into their bodies through normal hand to mouth activity.

The other significant pathway of lead exposure is dust from bare-lead contaminated soil. Soil contamination can be traced to past widespread use of leaded gasoline, to deteriorating exterior paint (on houses, bridges, and industrial facilities), and in some areas to industrial sources of lead. Lead contaminated bare soil can poison children by being ingested, inhaled, or tracked indoors to contaminate interior dust.

Other, usually less common, sources of lead in a child's environment can include drinking water (where lead solder and sometimes lead pipes were used in the municipal water system, in the child's home, or in both), imported ceramic tableware with lead glaze, old toys or furniture painted with lead based paint, parent's clothing (where a parent's work or hobby involves high levels of lead), and even traditional home remedies used by some ethnic groups.


Effects on Children
Children under six are most susceptible to the harmful effects of lead. They absorb lead more readily and are in a critical stage of their development. At low levels, lead poisoning causes reduction of IQ points, shortened attention span, hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, reading disabilities, and other learning and behavioral problems. These relatively low blood levels are typically not accompanied by identifiable symptoms.

Children with high levels of lead in their bodies require hospitalization and medical treatment. Very high lead exposures can cause mental retardation, coma, convulsions, and death.

Lead poisoning is difficult to diagnose. Lead poisoning is known as a "silent epidemic". At lower but still harmful levels, only a small percentage of children who suffer from lead poisoning display obvious symptoms. Lead poisoning is virtually impossible to diagnose without a blood test. However, some warnings identified by the State Department of Health included: Moodiness or irritability; constipation, short attention span, headaches fatigue, paleness, change in appetite, joint or muscle pain.


Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Northwest Bronx Housing
According to estimates by HUD, approximately 57 million pre-1978 housing units contain some lead based paint - over half of the nations's entire housing stock. In general, the older the housing, the greater the amount of lead-based paint. The confirmation that lead problems are not eliminated by covering old paint with multiple layers of new paint has far reaching implications for the majority of housing in the Northwest Bronx. According to 1991 Housing Study, Bronx Community Boards 5, 7, and 8 have the highest density of pre-1947 buildings in the City of New York. Also according to the 1991 Housing & Vacancy Study, an average of 14% of all Northwest Bronx rental units was defined as deficient. In the study, deficient was determined to include peeling and chipping paint, cracks in the ceiling and walls and holes in floors. These types of deficient conditions in apartments where lead paint was used will most likely have high levels of airborne lead. Families with young children living in older deteriorated housing are at greater risk for lead poisoning. The problem of childhood lead poisoning is greater for minority children in low-income neighborhoods. 58% of the households in the Northwest Bronx earn less than $25,000 with 40% living on a household income of less than $15,000.

Past Achievements of UNHP Related Works
As a part of our technical assistance and community organizing work, UNHP developed expertise in lead abatement and a program of activities aimed at reducing lead in the Northwest Bronx. UNHP became involved in the lead issue as it became apparent that lead poisoning was on the rise, new methods of transmission and increased risks had been identified and that developing guidelines would impact affordable housing in terms of cost, maintenance and renovations. UNHP has participated in policy discussion around the implementation of new lead abatement guidelines, has become trained and educated on the issue, and has obtained funding to give lead abatement and lead poisoning prevention trainings to every sector of housing and community. Following are some of the highlights of our work in the past on this issue.

Created and expanded the UNHP Green Loan Fund. The UNHP Green Loan Fund was created in 1995 with a $60,000 recoverable loan from Bankers Trust Foundation and has expanded to $415,000 with 32 loans issued. The Green Loan Fund is a resource to fund conservation and security-based improvements including lead abatement work in the Northwest Bronx affordable housing projects.

Obtained two year funding from HPD and DOH to train tenants and parents in lead poisoning risk reduction, local contractors, superintendents, and handy persons in lead abatement techniques and housing owners and managers in lead poisoning reduction maintenance and rehabilitation techniques. To date, 14 not-for-profit managers and 50 superintendents have attended the trainings. UNHP has reached close to three hundred people through specific lead poisoning prevention workshops. UNHP has worked with other organizers to provide lead hazard control information to tenants in deteriorated buildings, given a specialized course for family daycare providers to control lead hazards in their businesses and provided a training session for homeowners highlighting lead poisoning prevention during home maintenance.


Summary of Federal, State and City Lead Regulations
The following is a summary of the Federal, State, and City Laws pertaining to lead:

FEDERAL:
Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 - Title X
To protect families from exposure to lead from paint, dust, and soil, congress passed the Residential Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, also known as Title X. Title X had numerous mandates for federal agencies, state agencies and the private homeowner. On March 6, 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a final rule, "Lead; Requirements for Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing." This final rule requires the disclosure of known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most housing built before 1978. (The exceptions are buildings that have had an inspection done by a certified inspector verifying that the building is lead free; buildings for the elderly or disabled or zero -- bedroom units (studios). No testing of property is required, but if testing has occurred in the past, the seller or lessor must reveal the results of the survey. Failure to comply leaves an owner open to civil and criminal fees up to $10,000 for each violation.

What is required
Compliance is achieved by providing tenants who are renewing leases and new tenants signing leases with the following:

A copy of the violation should be given to the tenant. If the condition is corrected, the owner should disclose that fact and provide appropriate documentation. If a violation is being protested, it must be disclosed; if a violation is rescinded, this information should also be disclosed and the documentation should be provided.

All attachments to contract including statements and certifications must be in the language of the contract (e.g., English or Spanish).

OSHA Regulations:
OSHA Lead in Construction Standard
Contact OSHA at 212-466-2481
The OSHA Lead in Construction Standard protects those workers engaged in any construction related activity which will disturb lead paint, including lead paint abatement. (OSHA does not define lead paint; the standard simply says paint with any detectable level of lead). The standard requires that an employer assume that such workers will be exposed to lead, and protect those workers accordingly, until an "exposure assessment" is completed. The results of the exposure assessment (monitoring of the air workers breathe) determine if further air monitoring program (blood tests and physicals) should be implemented. The standard also requires that workers be trained in safe work practices.

EPA Lead Paint Notification
New renovation guidelines by the EPA took effect on June 1st, 1999, and apply to all owners and managers of buildings built before 1978. Under these guidelines, residents must be notified when apartments or common areas are being renovated. If the owner or his/her representative does the work, then the owner is responsible for notifying the tenants. If a contractor is hired, then the contractor must provide notification. The EPA defines renovation as “any work which disturbs more than two square feet of any painted surface.”

Tenants must be informed of the nature, location and timing of the repair work, and they must be given a copy of the pamphlet, “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home.” This pamphlet may be sent by certified mail or be hand-delivered, in which case a signed receipt should be obtained. If a receipt cannot be obtained, the renovator or owner can certify the attempt. Notification should be no less than 7 days and no more 60 days prior to the commencement of work. The only exception to the notification regulation is if the work is considered an emergency.

HUD's New Lead Regulations to Took Effect in September 2000
Long awaited HUD regulations regarding control of lead based paint (lbp) in publicly supported housing are scheduled to take effect on September 15, 2000. The rule was printed in the Federal Register in September 1999 to allow a full year to prepare for implementation of the regulations. However, there appears to be little attention being given to the new HUD regulations while the EPA renovation regulations (effective June 1999) and the City regulations (effective November 1999) are being implemented.

What housing is affected?
The HUD regulations affect housing built before 1978 that is financially assisted or sold by the Federal government; financially assisted housing includes housing receiving project based rental assistance, tenant-based rental assistance, multifamily housing for which mortgage insurance is sought, and housing receiving federal assistance for rehabilitation, reducing homelessness and other special needs.

The following housing is excluded from the new rule: housing exclusively for the elderly or people with disabilities (unless a child under 6 is expected to reside there); zero bedroom dwellings including efficiencies, SROs and dormitories; property found to be free of lead based paint by a certified lbp paint inspector; property where all lbp has been removed; unoccupied housing that will be vacant until demolished; nonresidential property; and any rehabilitation or improvement that does not disturb a painted surface.

The new regulation consolidates all of HUD’s Lead Based Paint regulations into one part of the Code of Federal Regulation: 24CFR Part 35. A major focus of the new regulation is the clearance requirement in the regulation, which involves testing dust for lead contamination after hazard control work.

What must be done as part of the new regulation?
The requirements vary somewhat based on the nature of federal involvement and whether the unit is rental or owner occupied and go beyond our ability to summarize here. The regulations and guides can be obtained from HUD by going to www.hud.gov/lea on the web or calling HUD at (202) 755-1785 ext.104.

We can note that the regulations will impact the multifamily housing that has been and is being renovated in the Bronx with low-interest City loans. There will be a significant impact on ongoing maintenance in these buildings. A change in regular maintenance practices will be required. Clearance tests will be required in all repair jobs except for small jobs. Clearance tests include dust testing and must be done by trained people.

A small job is described in the following way in HUD’s accompanying question and answer guide: “...when the deterioration is limited to hairline cracks or small nicks, scratches or nail holes.” In addition, “safe work practices” (i.e., occupant protection, worksite preparation and specialized cleaning) must be used during stabilization or abatement only when the area of paint being disturbed is greater than:

Clearance examinations must be done by someone other than the person who did the hazard control work and who is certified to perform lbp paint inspections, risk assessments or clearance exams in the state in which the housing is located. The exam involves a visual assessment to assure that there are not any deteriorated paint surfaces or visible amounts of dust or debris remaining on the property as well as dust testing to assure that the standards for lead in dust have been complied with. Dust testing cannot occur until after passage of the visual assessment. If the dust tests fail, there should be another cleaning of the spaces represented by the failing dust samples.

The clearance examiner must prepare and sign a report documenting that the housing passed clearance. A clearance test can be done by a person trained but not certified as a clearance technician provided a certified lbp paint inspector or risk assessor approves the work of the clearance technician and signs the report.

Interim controls must be done by a trained person who is either supervised by a certified abatement supervisor or has completed one of several training courses that explain how to conduct work safely so as not to contaminate the environment or expose occupants to lead.

HUD’s Estimated Costs:
HUD estimates that the average cost will be approximately $200 per HUD assisted unit. Nationwide HUD anticipates the costs associated with the new regulation to be about $564 million while the benefits are anticipated to hit $2.65 billion. These benefits include the improved lifetime earnings of children saved from lead poisoning, reduced medical and special education, reduced juvenile delinquency and related costs on the education system and reduced personal injury claims.

The real costs per apartment will vary. We encourage managers and contractors to let us know what they expect costs to be.

STATE:
New York State Public Health Law
Contact the NYS Health Department Information Line at (800) 458-1158
Part 67 of Title 10: Part 67 of Title 10 is a state regulation which mandates lead screening of all children in New York and gives power to local Department of Health to investigate cases of lead poisoning. The standard defines how this investigation should be conducted. Part 67 also outlines the requirements that all blood lead analysis results be report to the State Department of Health.

CITY:
New Local Law 1 of 2004
See above.

 

 

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