CITY OF BRIDGEPORT RECEIVES $3 MILLION TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DANGEROUS LEAD AND OTHER HOME HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS
Funding part of $143 million awarded nationwide from HUD

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded the City of Bridgeport $3 million in funding
to help protect children and families from dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards.
The funding, part of $143 million awarded nationwide, is expected to reduce or eliminate lead exposure in more than 10,500 homes nationally, and reduce levels of allergy-inducing substances in more than 780 homes. Lead is a known toxin that can impair children's development and may even cause death at high levels.

"We are making our homes safer and healthier places in which to raise our children," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "In particular, HUD is awarding these grants as part of our commitment to help communities eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010."

The City of Bridgeport's grant is being awarded under the Lead Hazard Control program. The Bridgeport Lead Free Family Program (BLFFP) is an intervention and preventive program to reduce lead hazards in 210 units for low and very low-income children age six and under in targeted neighborhoods throughout the city. Community outreach, widespread lead screenings, education to families and their landlords, risk assessments, and low-cost interim
controls and abatement strategies are used in eligible households in accordance with the HUD Lead-Safe Housing
Rule.

HUD and two of its federal agency partners, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, operate the National Lead Information Clearinghouse, where parents, property owners, and other members of the public can get information about lead hazards and their prevention. The Clearinghouse has a
toll free number, (800) 424-LEAD, and a web site, www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/nlic.htm, both of which provide
information in English and Spanish.

HUD's Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs

Even though lead-based paint was banned for use in the home in 1978, HUD estimates approximately 24 million
homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today. Lead-contaminated dust is the primary cause of lead exposure and can lead to a variety of health problems in young children including reduced IQ, learning disabilities, developmental delays, reduced height, and impaired hearing. At higher levels, lead can damage a child's kidneys
and central nervous system and cause anemia, coma, convulsions and even death.

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NOTE: For information on the City of Bridgeport's grant, please call Sabine Kuczo, Bridgeport Lead Free Families Program Manager, (203) 576-8220. For information on HUD's Lead Hazard Control program, or other HUD programs
and services, please contact Kristine Foye at (617) 994-8218 or Kristine.g.foye@hud.gov.