City Gets Grant to Reduce Lead-Based Paint Hazards
Long Beach will receive a $2-million grant to reduce lead-based paint hazards in homes as a follow-up to a $6-million grant awarded in 1994.
The three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is part of a national campaign to combat lead poisoning that affects nearly 5% of children under 5. Among low-income children living in older housing, 16% suffer from lead poisoning.
Young children are especially at risk at because their nervous systems are still developing and normal play can expose them to lead-contaminated dust and paint chips, said Don Cillay, a Long Beach Environmental Health official.
“The 1994 grant allowed the city to successfully control or abate lead-based paint hazards in about 500 units,” said Cillay.
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