Lead-Based Paint

For more than thirty years, ICF International has been committed to working with public agencies and nonprofit organizations to reduce environmental hazards and the risks they pose to public health. Many of our projects have addressed environmental hazards in the home and in low-income neighborhoods, particularly hazards related to lead-based paint exposure.

Research Links Childhood Lead Exposure to Changes in Violent Crime Rates Throughout the 20th Century

In 1993, ICF International was asked to provide staff support and direction for the Congressionally mandated task force on Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction and Financing. The policy and analytic work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Task Force laid the foundation for a series of projects focused on reduction of lead-based paint and other health hazards in homes and neighborhoods.

Working with HUD, EPA, state and local governments, and other clients, ICF International has helped draft regulations, analyzed costs and benefits of remediation efforts, designed training, and prepared educational and outreach products. Much of our work helps identify feasible approaches to meeting federal requirements, making it easier for local programs to protect residents from lead-related risks.

SELECTED PROJECTS

Providing Research and Policy Support for the Congressional Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction and Financing Task Force Designing and Conducting Lead-Based Paint Regulation Training Evaluating the Economic Costs and Benefits of the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Rule Designing a Lead-Based Paint Safety Field Guide

RESEARCH & POLICY SUPPORT FOR LEAD-BASED PAINT TASK FORCE

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge Despite reductions in blood lead levels since 1980, lead poisoning continued to be a tremendous health risk to young children in the early 1990's. While earlier laws removed lead from gasoline and food cans, little had been done to remove it from lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 and from lead-contaminated soil. Since the problem was so expansive, solutions needed to address health concerns of families and children in lead-contaminated homes, liability interests of insurance companies, cost and (dis)investment concerns of property owners, and legal interests of the court system. In 1993, Congress mandated the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction and Financing Task Force to study ways by which lead hazards could be reduced in pre-1978 housing while addressing the interests of affected individuals. The project was challenged by the competing interests of its stakeholders; the inseparable intersection of opposing solutions; and the vastness and urgency of the problem. ICF International was asked to support the Task Force with these challenges by assisting with research, data collection, meeting facilitation, and writing the final report. Solution Working for multiple clients—EPA, HUD, and the 39-member Task Force—required coordination, collaboration, and absolute neutrality. ICF International met these challenges by first assembling a team of experts—staff and consultants with legal, financial, medical, and insurance credentials—to assist our project team with research and policy support. We then prepared briefing papers, conducted financial analyses of proposed policies, facilitated meetings, provided research and data to inform Task Force discussions with Congress, produced interim research reports, and published the final report of the Task Force, Putting the Pieces Together: Controlling Lead Hazards in the Nation's Housing. Benefit The Task Force received research and policy support that was vital to producing informed recommendations and writing the final report. The Task Force was connected to key experts in fields affected by lead-hazard control. These experts provided important insight on the lead-hazard problem and helped guide the Task Force's development of conclusions and recommendations. View our Regulation & Policy Development page for more information.

LEAD-BASED PAINT REGULATION TRAINING

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge In 1999, HUD published a new regulation on lead hazard evaluation and reduction in government-assisted housing properties. This new rule had significant impact on the design and operation of assisted housing programs. HUD recognized the need for a major training effort to teach housing program professionals how to implement the rule's requirements. The task was challenging given the thousands of housing programs impacted by the rule, staff concerns about implementing major changes in operations, and HUD's desire to offer training in classroom settings. Solution To respond to HUD's need, ICF International designed a training program that addresses both the technical requirements of HUD regulations and the program implementation and actions required of local staff. The comprehensive course book includes detailed tables with requirement summaries, step-by-step guidance for incorporating the requirements into assisted housing programs, self-assessment tools to allow participants to evaluate their progress towards regulatory compliance, and exercises to illustrate different aspects of the new requirements. The training design provides facts and figures to help overcome myths and misconceptions, presents practical approaches to implementation, and allows participants to apply the material to their own programs. To prepare for the training delivery, ICF International fielded a team of eleven trainers with experience in housing programs, renovation, and lead hazard reduction. These trainers attended a "training of trainers" and a pilot delivery where they became well-versed in the course content and shared ideas with each other about how to best teach the materials. Finally, ICF International's logistics management team identified sites and made logistical arrangements for 55 training sessions nationwide. Benefit More than 3,200 people were trained within nine months. Each training participant received take-home resources including the comprehensive training manual and an action plan to begin project implementation. After attending the training delivery, participants were able to start taking steps to implement the rule in their local programs and, ultimately, protect children in their communities from the dangers of lead-based paint. View our Training Curriculum Development & Delivery page for more examples of our training products and services.

EVALUATING LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD CONTROL RULE

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge As part of the process of developing its new consolidated regulation on addressing lead-based paint in assisted housing, HUD was required to quantify the impact of the regulation. This necessitated quantifying the costs and benefits of many uncertain or unknown factors. On the cost side, it required estimating the cost of lead hazard evaluation and reduction activities—activities for which there was only a small market and therefore little cost data. On the benefit side, it meant estimating the benefit of healthier children—from fewer medical interventions to higher lifetime earnings. HUD turned to ICF International to address this complex issue by estimating costs and benefits for specific types of hazard evaluation and reduction activities. Solution ICF International first developed a unit benefit analysis that built on existing published research for estimating the monetary benefits of reducing blood lead levels in children. By developing a methodology for cost-benefit analysis and conducting contractor interviews, ICF International was able to document costs for lead-based paint (LBP) hazard evaluation and reduction demonstration projects and make unit cost estimates. We also calculated the incremental benefits attributable to specific hazard reduction activities in housing units. These calculations were derived from an analysis of recent research data and academic literature that correlated specific LBP hazards and blood lead levels. We next examined regulatory requirements and available survey data to determine the frequency of these unit costs and benefits. We analyzed this data with a model that calculated the total program costs and benefits for each HUD program by age of housing unit. We also analyzed the present value of fuel bill savings associated with using high-efficiency windows to replace windows with lead paint. Benefit The HUD rule received the necessary clearance for its economic analysis from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This clearance was the result of the demonstrated net benefit of the Lead Paint Hazard Control rule when managing lead hazards in federally assisted housing. OMB clearance was required before the final rule could take effect. The unit cost and benefit model we developed has subsequently been used in other HUD analyses, including the cost and benefit estimates for a proposed federal strategy that aims to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by the year 2010. View our Research & Analysis page for more information.

DESIGNING A LEAD-BASED PAINT SAFETY FIELD GUIDE

Challenge Solution Benefit Challenge When housing renovators and contractors work on older properties, they may create conditions that allow children to ingest lead-based paint and cause lead-based paint poisoning. HUD, EPA, and the Centers for Disease Control wanted to provide contractors with educational resources to teach them how to work safely in homes with lead-based paint. These agencies called on ICF International to help. Solution ICF International designed a field guide that provides step-by-step instructions for minimizing the risk of lead hazards during renovation. Pictures and diagrams enhance the straightforward, no-nonsense text. The field guide, printed on durable coated paper and designed to easily fit into a tool box, was tested in industry focus groups to make sure that it reads clearly and meets the needs of the intended audience. Benefit The guide has been made available to thousands of contractors free of charge through the National Lead Information Clearinghouse and as a part of training sessions on safe work practices. With the guide, contractors learn about safe work practices at construction sites and can better maintain safe conditions for children in lead-based paint environments.