Officials address lead exposure in old Delaware homes
Lead currently has national attention because of the widespread water crisis in Flint, Michigan, but health experts say the concern is just as far reaching in the small state of Delaware. Although, Delaware might not be facing that exact same issue, state officials are concerned about lead exposure in old Delaware homes.
Crystal Timmons-Underwood, the Interim Executive Director at La Esperanza says, “They always said it was the silent killer. You don’t realize that little flaking or powder dust that is on the edge of the base board. That could kill your child. It could harm you. It could harm your unborn child.”
Broken windows and flaking paint are a familiar sight in some old homes in Delaware. Delaware officials say there is a real reason folks should be frightened about older structures…lead poisoning.
“It’s every important because what people don’t realize is Delaware has some of the older homes and we are the first state,” says Underwood.
Bill Leitzinger, from the Delaware Division of Public Health says, “And the older the home the more likely lead paint hazards exist. Homes built before 1960 have a lot more lead hazards potentially than homes built in the 70s.”
The state of Delaware has partnered with organizations like La Esperanza and First State Community Action Agency to urge low income residents from Sussex and Kent county to have their homes assessed for lead.
“If you look through the towns of Georgetown, Laurel, seaford, or Dover and you think wow those homes were built in the early 1900s,” says Underwood.
Leitzinger tells us the state of Delaware received 3.28 million dollars in federal funding to repair houses that have lead hazards. The program started last year and provides free lead assessments to low income families and also helps restore homes to make them safe and lead-free at no cost to the home owner or landlord.
However, Leitzinger tells us not enough people took advantage of this program in it’s first year and the money is available for only two more years.
“We really need more people to understand that this is a program that can benefit them if they live in an older home. You may not know you may have lead hazards but this program provides you with a free lead hazard assessment,” says Leitzinger.
In the first year, the state has fixed 38 homes. They have enough funding to repair 212 properties in Kent and Sussex County over the next two years. Leitzinger tells us that funds to assess and remediate homes will only be available until November 2017.
For more information about the De-Lead program click here,
People can also contact Tony Toledo from La Esperanza at rtoledo@laesperanza.org or (302) 854-9262.
