HUD ANNOUNCES $5.8 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROTECT VERMONT 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 funding to the City of Burlington and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board 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 Burlington is being awarded $2,865,629 to make 180 eligible housing units lead safe. The Burlington
Lead Program will partner with the Community Health Center of Burlington, the Vermont Health Department, the Fletcher Allen Hospital, and EPA to provide door-to-door lead poisoning education and free lead testing for children under age six and pregnant women. The program and partners will provide HEPA vacuums for residents; technical assistance for property owners, and Essential Maintenance Practices (EMP) courses. The EMP courses will educate property owners/managers; painters, contractors, realtors and daycare providers on how to keep properties
lead-safe in accordance with the Vermont Lead Law.

The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) is being awarded $3,000,000 to perform lead hazard
control in 230 housing units. The VHCB proposes to train at least 800 property owners, contractors, maintenance personnel, child care providers, and realtors about lead safe work practices. Outreach and community education efforts under this grant will include at least 120 educational and outreach programs or activities that will serve over 20,000 persons.

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 more information on the City of Burlington's grant, please call Brian Pine, (802) 865-7598. For information on the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board's grant, please contact Lawrence Mires, (802) 828-5072. 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.