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Newsletter September 2004 Edition Improving Kids’ Environment (IKE) and the Indiana Lead-Safe Task Force publish this newsletter every two or three months at no charge for anyone interested in issues and events involving lead poisoning prevention and healthy homes in Indiana. Distribution is by email or fax – preferably by e-mail. We try to keep the newsletter to five pages. Contact the editor, Tom Neltner, at mccabe@ikecoalition.org or 317-442-3973 if you want to contribute articles, edit the draft newsletter, have an article to contribute, or want to get on or off the distribution list. All editions are available on IKE’s web page at http://www.ikecoalition.org/publications.htm.
2004 Indiana Lead-Safe and Healthy Homes Conference Mark your calendar for November 9 & 10 for the 4th Annual Indiana Lead-Safe and Healthy Homes Conference. The rates will be the same as the past two years. Go to www.ikecoalition.org for more information or to register. Mary Jean Brown of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Don Ryan of the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and Dennis Livingston of Community Resources in Baltimore will be featured speakers.
Matt Waldo and Nicole Bolde Leave ISDH ISDH lost two key people in August. Matt Waldo took a position with Indiana Department of Commerce. Nicole Bolde left to pursue opportunities outside the agency. We will miss both of them. ISDH plans to fill the vacancies. CDC Pleased with ISDH Lead Elimination Plan CDC approved of Indiana’s Lead Elimination Plan. ISDH formally submitted the plan in July 2004. The plan is designed to eliminate lead poisoning as a public health problem by 2010. It sets the following long-term goals and objectives. § Reduction in number of children with elevated blood lead levels o No children with confirmed blood lead levels > 45 µg/dL (Baseline: 12 confirmed) o Fewer than 30 children with blood lead levels 20 – 44 µg/dL (Baseline: 235) o Fewer than 200 children with blood lead levels 10 – 19 µg /dL (Baseline: 1198) o Fewer than 2000 children with blood lead levels 5 to 9 µg/dL (Baseline: 7990) § Increased number of dwellings & child occupied facilities identified/tested/made lead safe o By 7/1/11, Dwellings and child occupied facilities that have poisoned a child will not poison another child. Ninety-five percent will be made lead safe. o By 7/1/11, 90% of rental units built before 1940 identified and tested for lead. o By 7/1/11, 80% of rental units built before 1940 that have been identified to have lead hazards made lead safe. o By 7/1/11, 60% of housing units built before 1960 identified and tested for lead. o By 7/1/11, 80% of housing units built before 1960 and identified with lead hazards are made lead safe. § Increased number of children screened and receiving case management/disparities reduced. o By 7/1/11, 85% of Hoosier Healthwise children (Indiana’s combination of Medicaid and CHIP), and 70% of children participating in Women and Infant Children tested for lead. o By 7/1/11, 85% of children with confirmed elevated blood lead level benefit from active case management and have risk assessment to their residence or child occupied facility. o By 7/1/11, the percentage of Hoosier Healthwise children with elevated blood lead levels will be similar to non-Hoosier Healthwise children. IHFA Raises $16,000 for IKE and the Task Force The Indiana Housing Finance Authority held is first annual golf outing on September 13 in Indy. They donated the outing proceeds to IKE and Lead-Safe Indiana Task Force. At the outing wrap-up, Tom Neltner was stunned to receive a check for $16,000. Rumor has it that he was speechless for one of the few times in his life. J Thanks to Kimberly Wize, Diana Zimmerman and the rest of the gang at IHFA for their support. The check will make possible the work of the Task Force. ISDH Revises Blood Lead Testing Reports On August 19, 2004, ISDH revised its report to the Indiana General Assembly on the prevalence of lead poisoning in Indiana in 2003. Go to www.in.gov/legislative/igareports/agency/reports/ISDOH09.pdf for a copy of the report. The report provides a county-by-county tally of the 2003 blood lead testing results for children younger than six, children between six and fifteen inclusive, and people sixteen years or older. The report updates an April 2 report. The April 2 report did not count children as lead poisoned if they had a positive capillary test but did not get a confirmatory venous test. Of 39,069 children younger than six that were tested, 3.6% or 1409 children had elevated blood lead levels. ISDH was only able to confirm the level with a venous test on 668 children. More than half of the children who were lead poisoned based on a capillary test never received a venous test to confirm the results. Apparently, they could not be found or the family did not want to follow up. Check out how your county did. Remember, low numbers may be the result of a poor screening program not a lead-safe community. Medicaid Makes Progress on Reimbursements for Lead For five years, IKE has been asking for Indiana’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning to fulfill its federal mandate to ensure that children are screening and local health departments are reimbursed for case management and environmental investigation services provided to lead poisoned children. August brought a breakthrough thanks to State Rep. Bill Crawford. Rep. Crawford chairs the Joint Select Commission on Medicaid Oversight. He put the issue on the agenda. Click here for a copy of IKE’s testimony to the Commission. In anticipation of the meeting, ISDH and OMPP were able to finally reach agreement on the reimbursement. OMPP would reimburse ISDH for 50% of the costs out of federally-funded administrative expenses. Local health departments would submit claims through ISDH. This approach avoids the need for LHDs to become Medicaid-service providers. It also avoids requirements that they pursue third party insurers. The arrangement needs federal approval and may not be finalized until December. The potential loser in the arrangement is Marion County Health Department. MCHD is already a Medicaid-service provider. IKE is working with ISDH and OMPP to find a way to protect MCHD and to make sure ISDH has the resources to process the claims in a timely and efficient manner. Medicaid Told to Make Progress on Blood Lead Screening At the August 31 meeting of the Joint Select Commission on Medicaid Oversight, chairman State Rep. Bill Crawford demanded improvement in the blood lead screening levels for Medicaid children. He asked OMPP to present a rough plan at the Commission’s October meeting. OMPP can only document that 8.9% of the required tests for 12-month and 24-month old children were performed in 2003. This rate was down from 11% in 2002. The federal government requires a rate of 100%. For details on the rates from 1999 to 2003 and the algorithm used to calculate the information, click here. IKE called for OMPP to include financial incentives and disincentives to managed care organizations to improve rates. The current discussions were limited to planning and education – efforts that had virtually no impact in the past. State Senator Vi Simpson, a Commissioner member, sent a follow-up letter to OMPP and ISDH asking that they find a means to make dramatic improvements and seriously consider financial incentives or disincentives for performance. Sherwin Williams Meets with IKE IKE’s volunteers and staff have visited hundreds of retail paint and hardware stores across Indiana. In addition, Lara Nochomovitz of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry in Cleveland has visited more than thirty stores in her area. Finally, Marion County Health Department formed a Paint Retailers Task Force and invited all retailers. After reviewing progress in August, IKE determined that Porter Paints performs the best but still has room for improvement. Lowes is making progress and appears committed to improvement. In contrast, Sherwin Williams’ stores had the most room for improvement. While the stores had pamphlets on display, had warnings on the can, and took the extra step of warning labels on paint stir sticks, Sherwin Williams’ clerks consistently gave out dangerous advice. IKE’s efforts to engage local management in Indianapolis met with little success. With the help of the National Paint and Coatings Association, IKE met with Sherwin Williams’ Vice-President for Corporate Planning and Communications and its outside counsel on September 17 in Indy. The Concerned Clergy, Organization for a New Eastside and MCHD participated in the meeting. It was a productive discussion. Sherwin Williams understood IKE’s concerns and stated that they were unaware of concerns about the advice their clerks were dispensing. They committed to significant improvements. With 17,000 retail employees nationwide, their ability to impact the lives of their customers – for better or for worse – is tremendous. It is also a challenge to get all 17,000 to have a consistent message. Finally, they shared the difficulties in getting state and local requirements integrated into the countertops displays and education for a national company. They agreed to make sure employees received information on the issues. They also agreed to determine why LeadCheck® swabs had been pulled from their shelves. Fort Wayne Tenant Files Fair Housing Act Complaint for Lead Poisoning In cooperation with IKE, a family with two lead poisoned children filed a Fair Housing Act complaint against their landlord for his ongoing refusal to eliminate lead hazards from the property. Thanks to the work of Fort Wayne – Allen County Health Department, there was clear evidence that one child had a learning disability, probably due to lead poisoning. Ongoing exposure to lead hazards would likely make the learning disability worse and eliminating the hazards would be a reasonable accommodation. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission is managing the complaint. Lead Dust and Paint Chips as a Solid Waste under RCRA Thanks to the support of the Alliance for Healthy Homes, IKE’s Tom Neltner identified two cases where EPA determined that lead dust and detached lead-based paint chips were a solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. EPA went on to order cleanup of the solid waste after determining that it poses a substantial and imminent danger to children. In coordination with the Alliance and other organizations, IKE is considering methods, including citizen suits, to force cleanups at rental and commercial property where lead hazards have been identified. For $4.08 anyone can find the building permit and code enforcement records for property in Marion County on-line. If you want to know whether an apartment building you are interested in renting has had problems go to www.civicnet.net/apps/property/information/ia/property. Enter the address and find out: § Whether anyone has complained about lead hazards, water damage, trash, or other problems; § When the health department has inspected the property; § If housing code repair orders were issued; § Whether the repairs were made and property checked; § If the roof or furnace was replaced; § Who owns the property. It is a great resource. IKE would like to see the City of Indianapolis make the basic information available to renters for free so they can be more informed decisions. 24 of 26 Buildings Have Lead Hazards on Meridian St. Meridian St is the main street in Indianapolis. It is most prestigious address. There are 26 apartment buildings between 30th and 38th streets. They have about 750 units. One landlord manages nine buildings. Some of the buildings are upscale. Others cater to low-income residents. The 26 buildings were built between 1905 and 1957 with an average date of 1927. The buildings are valued at more than $11,000,000. Marion County Health Department found lead hazards at 24 of the 26 buildings. It has issued cleanup orders where it found hazards. Only two buildings had no lead hazards. Those appear to have no lead-based paint but a full inspection has not been done. One of these buildings is for families in need and was rehabbed with HUD funding – whew! The other building – the New Yorker – is a higher end apartment building. The detailed results are: § Deteriorated lead-based paint: 19 on exterior, 17 on interior, and 13 on windows § Lead in Soil: 8 exceeded EPA standards. 715 ppm maximum. 95 ppm minimum. 1940 ppm maximum. § Lead Dust on Sills: 4 exceeded EPA standard of 250 ug/ft2. 8020 ug/ft2 maximum. § Lead Dust on Floors: 6 exceeded EPA standard of 40 ug/ft2. 639 ug/ft2 maximum. MCHD conducted the investigations in response to complaints filed by IKE during the summer of 2004. Apparently, the investigations have prompted more complaints – possibly by one landlord on competing facilities. Thanks to a responsive MCHD – especially Melissa Smith and Karla Johnson – with the resources to help, thousands of residents will be exposed to fewer lead hazards. Unfortunately, only the lead hazards MCHD identified in the common area and in the one or two units that they could access were covered by the order. Based on the results, residents in similar untested units or in the thousands of untested buildings where no one has filed a complaint are at risk of lead poisoning. But MCHD lacks the resources to check them all and landlords are not required – or have little incentive – to check on their own to protect their tenants. HUD and EPA in Indy for Compliance Investigations In May, IKE referred 18 problem landlords in Indianapolis to HUD for investigation of possible lead disclosure violations. In mid-August, two employees of HUD and two of EPA Region 5 were in town to investigate these landlords. They also investigated other landlords whose properties were subject to MCHD’s housing code repair orders for lead hazards and may not have disclosed the orders. During the investigation, these landlords are not eligible to benefit for lead hazard control grants. Thanks to EPA and HUD for their diligence and effort in protecting Hoosier renters! Rental Housing Quality Meetings in Indianapolis in October Indianapolis’s City-County Council will hold public meetings in late October to hear concerns about the quality of rental housing. Based on the comments, the Metropolitan Development Committee will consider its next steps. Thanks to the leadership of Council President Rozelle Boyd and Metropolitan Development Committee Chair Steve Talley for agreeing to hold the meetings.
Housing Code Enforcement in Indianapolis In a unique arrangement, Marion County Health Department manages housing code enforcement in Indianapolis. This institutionalized integration of health and housing has been a benefit to residents for years. Thanks to a grant from the Alliance for Healthy Homes, IKE evaluated MCHD’s housing code enforcement data between January 1, 2000 and May 2004. Jack Leonard of the Environmental Management Institute did the analysis. Here is what we found: § 3282 orders issued § 84.5% rental § 12.3% hotel or motels § 3.2% owner-occupied. § 99.5% of orders to repair lead hazards issued for rental property Most of these orders were issued in response to complaints. Some were the result of lead-poisoned child investigations. This reactive system shows the need for significant improvement in rental housing quality. IKE believes that a proactive system where landlords certify annually that the property complies with codes and MCHD charges landlords for its inspections when the certification is insufficient may be a better approach. Major Mold Settlement in Indy Against Beazer A major class action lawsuit against Beazer Homes for mold and water damage will be settled today according to the Indianapolis Star. See www.indystar.com/articles/2/174677-8942-092.html. The settlement affects 2100 homes built by Beazer that sold for $125,000 to $500,000. Improperly installed brick veneer is blamed for many of the mold problems. Under the agreement, Beazer will pay up to $2000 per home for an engineer to evaluate the problems in the home and recommend repairs. The homeowners group will select the engineer. There is an appeals process if the homeowner is not satisfied. Homeowners pay $225 for the appeal. Beazer will pay for the engineer's recommended repairs. Beazer received 901 written complaints and set aside $20 million for the repairs. The review and repair process will take up to five years. HUD Lead and Healthy Homes Grants No word yet from HUD on the six healthy homes and lead hazard control grants submitted by Indiana communities. We should know by the end of September. Stay tuned. § Lead-Safe Indiana Task Force Meeting in Indy. All are welcome to attend these meetings to discuss lead poisoning and healthy homes issues across Indiana. It is a great networking and planning opportunity. Contact Tom Neltner at mccabe@ikecoalition.org or at 317-442-3973 for details. o Thursday, September 23 – 1:00 to 3:00 at Indianapolis HUD office at Ohio and Pennsylvania Streets. o Tuesday, December 7 – 10:30 to 1:30 at Environmental Management Institute. § Indiana Lead Elimination Plan Advisory Committee in Indy. Thursday, September 23 from 10:00 to 12:00. Contact Maria Larson at mlarson@isdh.state.in.us or (317) 233-1293 for details. § November 9 to 10 – Indy. 4th Annual Indiana Lead-Safe and Healthy Homes Conference at the Marten House in Indianapolis. Contact Tom Neltner for details. See article at beginning of newsletter. § Training o Free EPA & HUD-Approved Lead Safe Work Practices Course. Contact Masimax at 866-232-5419 or on-line at www.leadsafetraining.org. § October 12 in Ann Arbor, MI. § October 28, 2004 in Springfield IL. o Accredited Lead Training at the Environmental Management Institute in Indy. Contact EMI at 800-488-8842 or www.envtlmgmt.org. o Lead Inspector/Risk Assessor Initial – Sept 27 to Oct. 1 o Lead Abatement Worker Initial – Oct. 26 to 27 o Lead Abatement Worker Refresher – October 28 o Inspector Refresher – Dec. 7 o Risk Assessor Refresher – Dec. 8 o Lead Abatement Supervisor Refresher – Dec. 9
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. Please let us know if you do not want to receive this newsletter. You may get enough emails and faxes already. We do not want to add to the burden if you are not interested in receiving the materials.
IKE publishes two additional newsletters on a quarterly basis. Contact Tom Neltner at mccabe@ikecoalition.org if you want to subscribe to either of those newsletters.
“Sewage in Our Streams” newsletter on behalf of the Indiana Clean Water Coalition. . “Improving Kids’ Environment” newsletter. This newsletter deals with all issues and events in which IKE involved.
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Indiana Lead-Safe & Healthy Homes