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Risk Indicators of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Public Housing Agencies

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust are some of the most widespread and hazardous sources of lead exposure for young children in the United States.  When lead-based paint peels and cracks, it results in lead-contaminated paint chips and dust.  Children can be poisoned if they chew on surfaces coated with lead-based paint, eat flaking paint chips, or eat or breathe in lead dust.  CDC has reported that there is no safe blood lead level in people and there is no cure for lead poisoning,

HUD's Processes for Addressing Cases of Children Residing in Public Housing with Elevated Blood Lead Levels

The Office of Evaluation is initiating an evaluation of HUD’s processes for addressing cases of children residing in public housing with elevated blood lead levels (EBLL).  The objectives are to: 1. Use available information to identify HUD-assisted properties owned and managed by public housing agencies at risk of having lead-based paint hazards. 2. Determine the effectiveness of HUD’s processes for addressing cases of children residing in public housing with EBLLs. 3.

HUD's Radon Policies

HUD OIG is evaluating the Offices of Public and Indian Housing and  Multifamily Housing Program’s policies for radon. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and it is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.

HUD’s Efforts to Identify and Mitigate Resident Risks for HUD Properties On or Near Contaminated Sites

HUD OIG is evaluating  HUD’s efforts to identify and mitigate resident risks for its properties on or near Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites and non-NPL sites with lead contamination.  We initiated this evaluation due to the lead poisoning of residents in an East Chicago, IN, public housing complex and the possibility that residents in thousands of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-funded properties across the Nation face health risks because they are living on or near other contaminated sites.

Contaminated Sites Pose Potential Health Risks to Residents at HUD-Funded Properties

The West Calumet Housing Complex (WCHC), located in East Chicago, IN, was a public housing development that opened in 1972 on top of a former lead smelting plant.  HUD and other agencies missed multiple opportunities to identify site contamination at WCHC.  As a result, WCHC residents continued living in unsafe conditions for decades, and inadequate oversight led to the lead poisoning of children in WCHC.  Between 2005 and 2015, a child living in WCHC had nearly a three times greater chance of having elevated blood lead levels than children living in other a

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