A Community-Academic Partnership to Reduce Lead Exposure From an Elevated Roadway Demolition, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012.

Disseminating public health recommendations to community members is an important step in protecting the public's health. We describe a community-academic partnership comprising health-based organizations, community groups, academia, and government organizations. This partnership undertook an iterative process to develop an outreach plan, educational materials, and activities to bring lead-poisoning prevention recommendations from a health impact assessment of a roadway demolition/construction project to the residents of an affected neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2012.

Use of a Field Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer for Environmental Exposure Assessment of a Neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt Adjacent to the Site of a Former Secondary Lead Smelter.

The objectives of this study are to demonstrate for the first time the use of a field portable X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer (XRF) in a multi-media environmental survey and to use the survey results to determine if residual lead from a once-active secondary lead smelter in Cairo, Egypt, still posed a health risk to the residents when comparing results with US EPA standards. Results were analyzed to determine if relationships among the variables indicated that there were residual impacts of the former smelter. Samples collected inside and near a total of 194 dwellings were analyzed.

Examination of lead concentrations in new decorative enamel paints in four countries with different histories of activity in lead paint regulation.

Paints with high lead concentrations (ppm) continue to be sold around the world in many developing countries and those with economies in transition representing a major preventable environmental health hazard that is being increased as the economies expand and paint consumption is increasing. Prior lead paint testing had been performed in Brazil and India and these countries were selected to examine the impact of a new regulatory limit in Brazil and the impact of efforts of non-governmental organizations and others to stop the use of lead compounds in manufacturing paints. Armenia and Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, were selected because no information on lead concentration in those regions was available, no regulatory activities were evident and non-governmental organizations in the IPEN network were available to participate.

Effects of HUD-supported lead hazard control interventions in housing on children's blood lead.

The Evaluation of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program studied the effectiveness of the housing intervention performed in reducing the blood lead of children at four post-intervention times (6-months, 1-year, 2-years, and 3-years). A repeat measures analysis showed that blood lead levels declined up to three-years post-intervention. The results at each successive collection time were significantly lower than at the previous post-intervention time except for the difference between the levels at two and three years.

Longevity of the effectiveness of interim soil lead hazard control measures and influencing factors.

A 7-year follow-up was conducted to determine factors associated with the longevity of interim soil lead hazard control measures that had been applied to housing in the Cleveland OH area. The approach involved (1) visual determination of the treatment integrity, (2) collection of information regarding 14 factors that may contribute to longevity of treatment integrity and (3) collection of one composite soil sample from treated areas with visual failure at each house and another composite sample from areas without visual failure. For the 200 houses studied, an average of 4 different soil areas were treated.

Lead levels in new enamel household paints from Asia, Africa and South America.

In 2006 a report on the analysis for lead in 80 new residential paints from four countries in Asia revealed high levels in three of the countries (China, India and Malaysia) and low levels in a fourth country (Singapore) where a lead in paint regulation was enforced. The authors warned of the possible export of lead-painted consumer products to the United States and other countries and the dangers the lead paint represented to children in the countries where it was available for purchase. The need for a worldwide ban on the use of lead in paints was emphasized to prevent an increase in exposure and disease from this very preventable environmental source.

National evaluation of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program: study methods.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) undertook an evaluation of its Lead Hazard Control Grant Program between 1994 and 1999. The Evaluation is the largest study ever done on the effectiveness of lead hazard controls implemented in residential dwellings. The Evaluation had several major objectives: determining the effectiveness of various lead hazard controls in reducing residential dust lead levels and children's blood lead levels, establishing the costs of doing lead hazard control work and factors that influence those costs, determining the rate of clearance testing failures and their causes, and identifying possible negative effects of lead hazard control work on children's blood lead levels.

Residential dust lead loading immediately after intervention in the HUD lead hazard control grant program.

At the conclusion of most lead hazard control interventions in federally assisted housing built before 1978, a certified clearance examiner must verify that the lead hazard control work was completed as specified and that the area is safe for residents, a process referred to as clearance. This study explores the experience of 14 grantees participating in the Evaluation of the HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program in passing clearance. The study also considers how preintervention lead levels (interior dust and paint), building condition/characteristics, and the scope of work influenced initial clearance dust lead loadings and clearance rates.

The influence of exterior dust and soil lead on interior dust lead levels in housing that had undergone lead-based paint hazard control.

To aid in understanding the contribution of exterior dust/soil lead to postintervention interior dust lead, a subset of housing from the HUD Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program Evaluation was selected for study. Housing from 12 state and local governments was included. Exterior entry and street dust samples were obtained by a vacuum method, and soil samples were building perimeter core composites.

Prevalence and location of teeth marks observed on painted surfaces in an evaluation of the HUD lead hazard control grant program.

Data from an evaluation of the HUD Lead Hazard Control Grant Program were used to evaluate the prevalence and location of teeth marks on painted surfaces in residential housing. The results of these analyses will be useful in the development of more effective pediatric lead poisoning prevention programs. These programs have historically placed considerable emphasis on surfaces accessible to children for mouthing activities.

Relationship between lead levels on painted surfaces and percent lead in the particles aerosolized during lead abatement.

Quantifying airborne lead on lead abatement work sites is critical in assessing worker lead exposures. Airborne lead levels depend on both the concentration of aerosolized particles and the percent lead in those particles. The lead level on the painted surface being abated may affect the percent lead in aerosolized particles.

Efficiency of final cleaning for lead-based paint abatement in indoor environments.

The effectiveness of procedures used for the final indoor cleaning after active lead-based paint abatement were evaluated in a 830 ft3 test chamber. Dry and wet scraping and dry machine sanding were applied to wooden doors obtained from lead-hazard control sites. The airborne particle concentration and size distribution were monitored using a real-time particle size spectrometer.