IKE Lead-Safe Indiana Task Force Newsletter

March 2002 Edition

In response to the January 2002 edition, several people asked for more detail and context in the newsletter.  I have tried to do that in this edition.  I am also using html format not plain text.  Let me know what you think at Tom Neltner. Word Version

Mark Your Calendar!  

• Nov. 6 & 7 - 2002 Lead-Safe Indiana Conference at Marriott East in Indy

• April 9 - ISDH Lead Advisory Task Force - 2:00 to 4:00 at ISDH's offices in Indy.

• June 19 - IKE Lead-Safe Indiana Task Force and ISDH Lead Advisory Task Force - 9:30 to 3:30 at Forest Manor Clinic in Indy. 

Thanks to IHFA:  Special thanks to Mark Young and the Indiana Housing and Finance Authority for their $22,000 HOME grant to IKE to support the Task Force and the Conference.  

Share Data Not Dust:  On March 21, 2002, Governor Frank O'Bannon signed HEA-1171.  HEA-1171 was unanimously adopted by the Indiana General Assembly earlier in the month.   Beginning July 1, 2002, home repair and painting contractors must change their habits when working in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1960.  Unless they know for certain that the paint is not lead-based paint, they are not allowed to dry sand, dry scrape, burn or char more than 2 square feet of interior paint, 10% of an interior painted component or 20 square feet of exterior paint.  And if they disturb more than 20 square feet of exterior paint, they need to clean up their mess - one of those 50 things Robert Fulgham tells us we learned in kindergarten.  While there are exceptions, they are limited.  

Because kids poisoned by lead can fall in the gaps in our public health network, HEA-1171 requires public health agencies to share blood testing data among themselves to better help kids and to more effectively focus their limited resources.  Results of blood lead tests collected after July 1, 2002 must also be shared with housing agencies that have responsibilities to protect kid's health in HUD-subsidized housing.  To wrap up the flow of information, starting on July 1, 2003, private labs must join public labs in reporting blood lead testing results to the State Department of Health (ISDH) including critical demographic data.  

Finally, the General Assembly recognized that we need to streamline licensing and overcome the barriers that licensing can create.  Lead licenses issued before July 1, 2002 will be automatically extended to June 30, 2004.  Licenses issued after July 1, 2002 will last three years not the current one year.  In addition, by July 1, 2003, the State must have rules in place to license clearance examiners - a step that will make it easier and cheaper for property managers to ensure maintenance work has been done properly.  

Well done!  Thanks to Reps Avery, Atterholt, Porter and Weinzapfel and Senators Gard, Broden and Breaux for their leadership as well as the agencies and concerned citizens for their support and guidance.  For more information.

Gotta Know to Bid:  Four Indiana cities - South Bend, Lafayette, Hammond and East Chicago - have decided that all housing not just HUD-funded housing deserves quality contractors.  At the urging of John Casey of Greentree Environmental Services, they have decided that any contractors bidding on city work involving target housing or child-occupied facilities must certify that their workers have taken a HUD-approved lead-safe work practices course.  Way to go John Casey!  Contact John at jrcaseyone@aol.com or (877) 476-8733 for details.  Hopefully, more cities will follow suit.  

Room for Improvement - Medicaid:  All Medicaid-eligible children are required to be tested at their 12-month and 24-month visit to the doctor.  The results are in for 2001.  Between 5.8 and 11.5% of the children were tested - up from 5 to 10.1% in 2000 and 0.4% in 1999.  This rate is less than national averages - which exceeds 20%.  So what is the problem?  First, the managed care organizations have little incentive to report, so they don't report despite requests from Indiana's Medicaid.  Second, doctors don't insist that the test be done either not understanding the latest research or ignoring the reality that lead poisoning today is without symptoms.  Finally, when a doctor does order a test, the parent may skip the stop at the lab.  For year-to-year comparison.

Room for Improvement - Paint Retailers:  In a February 2002 in-store survey of 41 of 67 Indianapolis retail paint stores, 71% of the store clerks told a young women to sand the paint off of a door to a child's nursery despite being being aware that the house was built before 1950.  

How could that happen when many of these clerks are employees of the paint industry - an industry that is well aware of the dangers of lead-based paint and the dust from improper surface preparation? The clerks were usually eager to help their customers, to meet their needs and make a sale.  They often were willing to provide advice - any advice - even if they did not know about the hazards of working with old lead-based paint.  In the parlance of Total Quality Management, it sounds like a "management opportunity."  

The surveyed stores primarily served residents most at risk for lead poisoning.  29 of them advised sanding.   Only the three Ace Hardware stores avoided recommending sanding.  Of the 12 that conveyed some understanding of the issue, only one accurately understood the hazard.  For example, one clerk suggested that the woman inspect the paint chips to see what color the dust was.  Another suggested only sanding the top coat.  Another tried to sell the woman a power sander to make the work go faster.  For the survey method and the results by store brand.  

At the invitation of the National Paint and Coatings Association,  IKE's Tom Neltner went to their meeting and presented the results of the survey.  He also gave them a proposal to fix the problem - a proposal beyond the "don't give out dangerous advice" plea he has echoed for more than two years.

• Train the retail clerks to ask the right questions and then test their knowledge;

• Require HUD-approved lead-safe work practices training for contractor sales reps;

• Offer HUD-approved training to contractors;

• Use a third party to regularly survey clerks and sales reps to make sure they don't forget;

• Make accuracy a part of the job through performance appraisals;

• Sell supplies and the HUD Field Guide needed for lead-safe work practices; and

• Post warning signs near supplies such as sandpaper that cause the most harm.

In response, the NPCA has advised it will undertake an initiative to develop training tools to assist paint retailers in increasing their understanding of lead hazards and the available resources for lead-safe repainting projects.  IKE has been asked to assist this effort by providing additional details on key consumer questions and advise on an independent survey to gauge the effectiveness of industry efforts.  NPCA officials indicate their efforts will begin immediately, with critical developmental milestones in July and October of this year. 

IKE hopes that this industry initiative will build on the efforts taken by some Indiana paint retailers and help establish a national movement of support at the retail level.  For its part, IKE plans to assist NPCA as well as monitor and report on the progress for this important development.

A positive step forward - yes.  But results are what counts.  Visit you local store and tell IKE how it is doing.

A Lesson in Testing:  Fort Wayne Community Schools took advantage of a long-standing state authority and required all young students to get a blood-lead test starting in the '02/'03 school year.  Great move!  The results will not only help the students but it should also help their younger siblings.  South Bend has a similar, voluntary effort going.  With their aid of Notre Dame, the St. Joe County Health Dept and the indomitable Kathleen Kraner, they are working to get children at an elementary school in a high risk neighborhood to understand lead poisoning and get their blood tested.

No fooling!  Nancy Cobb will be the Director of Environmental Health at the ISDH starting April 1, 2002.  She will coordinate ISDH's lead poisoning prevention, injury prevention and asthma effort.  Nancy has played a critical role in most lead poisoning projects in Indiana at ISDH and FSSA.  Last November, she received a 2001 Lead-Safe Indiana Award for her work.  Wonderful news! 

To Do List of 2002 Lead-Safe Indiana Conference:

1. Mark your calendar to be in Indy on Nov. 6 & 7.

2. Please let Tom Neltner me know if you want to speak at the conference or know of a good speaker you want to hear.  

3. Volunteer to help on the conference - food, speakers, audiovisual, handouts, awards - we need you!

4. Think of good candidates for the Lead-Safe Indiana Awards.  

Lead Hazards in Indiana:  Where are lead hazards in Indiana?  Check out IDEM's 2000 Families Report from IDEM's 2000 Families Project.     

Landlord-Tenant Law at long last: Thanks to the perseverance and leadership of Rep. John Day, Indiana finally has a landlord-tenant law dealing with the safety and health of housing.  See HEA-1013 for the exact language.  But from a healthy homes perspective, for leases entered into after July 1, 2002, tenants must:

• Comply with all obligations imposed primarily on a tenant by applicable provisions of health and housing codes.

• Keep the areas of the rental premises occupied or used by the tenant reasonably clean. 

Landlords must:

• Deliver the rental premises to a tenant in compliance with the rental agreement, and in a safe, clean, and habitable condition; 

• Comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the rental premises; and

• Make all reasonable efforts to keep common areas of a rental premises in a clean and proper condition.

Enforcing Disclosure!  If you know of a violation of EPA disclosure rules, contact Scott Cooper of EPA Region 5 right away.  You can reach him at (312) 886-1332, FAX (312) 353-4788, e-mail him at cooper.scott@epa.gov

If you have any questions or comments, contact Tom Neltner at mccabe@ikecoalition.org or 317-442-3973.  If you need more information on national events, check out the Alliance Alert Newsletter at www.afhh.org and click on newsletter.   

This newsletter was produced with the assistance of IHFA through federal funds made available by IHFA under the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, as amended, using HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.