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EPA Lead Program Grant Fact Sheet
EPA's National Community-Based Lead Grant Program
EPA grants are helping communities with older housing reduce childhood lead poisoning. The funds enable communities to educate those at risk, provide lead-awareness training and develop local ordinances aimed at lead abatement.
The National Community-Based Lead Outreach and Training Grants are aimed at promoting efforts to prevent or reduce childhood lead poisoning. In 2007 the Agency awarded more than $3.1 million in grants to fund this ambitious program. Grant recipients range from city health departments to universities and colleges, community organizations, religious groups and other non-profit organizations.
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. Projects supported by these grant funds are an important part of this ongoing effort -- and we are seeing their effects. By 2002, the number of U.S. children with elevated blood levels had dropped to 310,000 from 13.5 million in 1978, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Berrien County Health Department
EPA has selected the Berrien County Health Departmentfor a National Community-Based Lead Outreach and Training Grant.
Berrien County will collaborate with Muskegon and Kent Counties to build local infrastructure to protect low-income residents from the dangers of childhood lead poisoning in the Benton Harbor, Grand Rapids and Muskegon communities.
The project will:
- Provide lead outreach materials to educate rental property owners, public health and code officials, realtors, landlords and others in the community on lead poisoning prevention,
- Train rental property owners, public health and code officials, realtors and landlords on lead-safe work practices, and
- Produce an extensive curriculum for best practices lead training as well as a model guidebook for local housing lead poisoning prevention ordinances.
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.