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EPA Lead Program Grant Fact Sheet
EPA's Targeted Lead Grants
EPA's Targeted Lead Grant Program funds projects in areas with high incidences of children with elevated blood-lead levels in vulnerable populations. In 2007 the Agency awarded more than $5.2 million in grants under this ambitious program. These targeted grants are intended to address immediate needs of the communities in which they are awarded, and will also highlight lead poison prevention strategies that can be used in similar communities across the country.
EPA's lead program is playing a major role in meeting the federal goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning as a major public health concern by 2010, and the projects supported by these grant funds are an important part of this ongoing effort. According to the Centers for Disease Control in 1978 there were 13.5 million children in the US with elevated blood lead levels. By 2002, that number had dropped to 310,000.
Albany, New York - Lead Education and Poisoning Prevention
EPA has selected Cornell University Cooperative Extension in Albany, New York, for a Targeted Lead Grant.
The Lead Education and Prevention (LEAP) project will target zip code areas within the City of Albany with a high rate of elevated blood-lead levels with goals to educate residents about lead hazards and to reduce childhood lead poisoning.
Through education and outreach, the LEAP program will train school age youth on how to conduct a brief assessment of their homes to identify possible lead hazards, will offer landlords incentives to participate in lead training, and Cornell University cooperative extension nutrition and weatherization educators will conduct outreach to the target population in their homes. The project's objectives are to:
- Disseminate appropriate lead information to 2000 individuals in the target area,
- Promote blood-lead level testing for all young children in the target area,
- Distribute free cleaning supplies to 200 households,
- Train six Cooperative Extension educators to be a resource for lead information,
- Involve and educate 200 youth (including teenagers) about lead hazards,
- Train 15 landlords about lead hazards,
- Offer resource information about lead concerns for 100 community gardeners, and
- Develop resource/referral handouts listing several dozen appropriate contacts.
For more information about EPA's Lead Program, visit www.epa.gov/lead or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD.