A new HUD rule imposes significant requirements on local housing authorities to prevent lead poisoning in children. Some provisions require intervention to identify and respond to children younger than six with an environmental intervention blood lead levels (EIBLL) — one reading over 20 μg/dL or two consecutive readings over 15 μg/dL.

Here is a run down of the key requirements:

1. Housing agencies must send their local health departments a list of addresses of Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance and update it quarterly.
2. Housing agencies must ask local health departments for a list of children with EIBLLs. If the health department does not do an address match, the housing agency must do the match.
3. A housing agency or property owner that gets notice of a child in federally assisted housing with an EIBLL must do the following:

• If the notice is from a local health department or other medical health care provider, it must conduct a risk assessment within 15 days and implement it within 30 days. These actions are required even if the child is no longer living on the property.

• If the notice is from someone else, such as the tenant, the owner must immediately get verification through a health department or other medical care provider.

• If the information is from another medical care provider, the owner must notify the local health department within five working days.

See IKE's broader effort on lead poisoning prevention for more details.