It’s time for landlords to get the lead out

It’s one thing to get a law on the books, it’s another to get people to comply.

Such is the case with Massachusetts’ 50-year-old Lead Law, which requires removal or control of lead paint in houses where children under the age of 6 live.

For decades, lead paint was the go-to because of its durability, but research in the ’60s and ’70s pointed to lead as an environmental health threat, particularly for children. Those of a certain age may remember the “pica balloon” PSAs, which reminded kids not to pick at peeling paint and eat it.

But with the Lead Law enacted in ’71, and lead-based paint banned in 1978, the problem should be solved.

It isn’t.

Many older buildings still have lead paint, and property owners are still not removing it, the State House News Service reported.

It is, apparently, an open secret, and Rep. David LeBoeuf, D-Worcester, has filed legislation to update the Lead Law to ensure compliance.

His bill would phase in a new mandatory schedule for removing lead paint or other sources of excessive lead regardless of whether a young child lives in the building, starting in communities with significant numbers of lead poisoning cases.

“The challenges related to lead haven’t gone away. Only 10% of housing constructed before 1978 has actually been de-leaded or had a leading inspection,” LeBoeuf said. “One of the more disturbing statistics is that, in 2017, the most recent data we have, 3,555 Massachusetts children met the CDC definition of lead poisoning. This is clearly a public health crisis.”

That the Lead Law requires lead paint removal in buildings where children under 6 reside has provided a loophole for property owners who don’t want to incur the expense of de-leading. Teresa Decker, a Worcester resident with a young son, spoke during a Virtual Housing Fair Wednesday about her search for an apartment in 2016.

Decker had a Section 8 voucher and because of her child, she had to be notified of any lead risks under state law.

“Landlords would just tell me ‘I don’t have a lead certificate and I’m not willing to obtain one.’ “

Meris Bergquist, executive director of the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, said more than 3,000 Bay State children are afflicted with lead poisoning each year, and they are often exposed to lead paint in older households.

She said that according to the Department of Public Health, Massachusetts has 1.8 million dwellings that still have not been made lead-safe for children in the decades since enactment of the state’s Lead Law.

“Lead poisoning, as I’m sure most of you know, is a devastating childhood disease, and the tragedy of lead poisoning is that it’s completely avoidable,” Bergquist said. “These (bills) would get us to the point where we reduce about 88% of childhood lead poisoning.”

That this legislation is needed 50 years after the initial law was passed is unconscionable — especially as non-compliance has contributed to lead poisoning in children. This should have been dealt with in the decades since the Lead Law was enacted.

Yes, de-leading can be expensive, but the state offers financial help to property owners through tax credits, grants and loans.

Here’s hoping LeBeouf ’s legislation gets the green light — and it’s a shame that it’s necessary.