October 27, 2011 - DCA Lead-Safe Program Announces Milestone during Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week
DCA Lead-Safe Program Announces Milestone during Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Program Receives 1,000th Application, Nearly 600 Households Assisted |
TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' (DCA) Commissioner Lori Grifa today announced that the Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund received its 1,000th application.
The fund, which provides financial resources for programs grouped under the banner of Lead-Safe NJ, has also helped keep 599 New Jersey households safe from exposure to this highly toxic metal. The announcement comes during "Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week," which is an annual national event aimed at increasing awareness and promoting successful lead poisoning prevention strategies.
"Because of the state's older housing stock and extensive industrial heritage, there is a significant amount of lead in New Jersey. This has left New Jersey residents, particularly our children, with a potentially dangerous health threat," said Commissioner Grifa. "The Department's Lead-Safe NJ initiatives have been dedicated to the task of removing this hazard, and the programs have earned laudable praise for their progress as demonstrated by this milestone achievement."
All Lead-Safe NJ programs receive financial resources from the Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund, which was created by the Lead Hazard Control Assistance Act. The Act was signed into law on January 20, 2004 and designates two types of assistance: lead-based paint remediation of residential properties and emergency relocation help for households with a lead-poisoned child.
Under the lead-based paint remediation assistance, Lead-Safe NJ provides grants or low-interest loans to homeowners and rental property owners of pre-1978 housing to help them reduce or eliminate lead-based paint hazards. The funding can also be used to address underlying conditions that contribute to lead-based paint failure. Under emergency relocation assistance, Lead-Safe NJ administers initiatives to help households relocate a lead-poisoned child, temporarily or permanently, to lead-safe housing by providing funds for eligible relocation costs such as hotel/motel payments, security deposits, first month's rent, and storage fees accrued during a lead poisoning emergency.
Since the Lead-Safe NJ initiatives began receiving applications in July 2005, there have been 331 lead-safe housing units produced and 268 households relocated to lead-safe housing.
Because of the serious health problems associated with lead poisoning, the Lead-Safe NJ initiatives remain committed to mitigating lead hazards, and eliminating them altogether whenever possible. People can easily absorb lead by eating or breathing it in and when too much lead accumulates in the body, it can cause developmental and neurological problems. Children under the age of six and pregnant women are at greatest risk of suffering adverse health effects due to lead exposure.
Lead can be found in dust, debris, soil, drinking water, food, cosmetics, and some household products. However, the primary cause of lead poisoning in children today is lead-based paint, which was banned from residential use in New Jersey in 1971 and nationally in 1978. Housing built prior to the ban may contain lead-based paint, but housing constructed prior to 1950 presents the greatest risk due to the high percentage of lead contained in older paint. More than 30 percent of the housing in New Jersey was built before 1950. In addition, every county in the State has more than 9,000 housing units built before 1950.
County-by-county statistics provide a snapshot of what the Lead-Safe NJ program has been able to achieve to date.
Lead-Safe NJ Program Statistics, July 2005 to Present
County |
Lead-Safe Housing Units Produced |
Households Relocated |
Atlantic |
6 |
4 |
Bergen |
9 |
6 |
Burlington |
6 |
5 |
Camden |
10 |
9 |
Cape May |
0 |
2 |
Cumberland |
35 |
33 |
Essex |
79 |
87 |
Gloucester |
2 |
5 |
Hudson |
6 |
13 |
Hunterdon |
0 |
0 |
Mercer |
14 |
11 |
Middlesex |
4 |
1 |
Monmouth |
15 |
11 |
Morris |
3 |
5 |
Ocean |
1 |
3 |
Passaic |
87 |
53 |
Salem |
5 |
2 |
Somerset |
1 |
2 |
Sussex |
1 |
1 |
Union |
43 |
13 |
Warren |
4 |
2 |
Total |
331 |
268 |
For more information about the Lead-Safe NJ program, please go to http://www.leadsafenj.org. To search for lead-safe housing units in New Jersey, visit the DCA's Lead-Safe Housing Registry at www.njleadsafe.info.
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