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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.
Glynn County Health Department
EPA has selected the Glynn County Health Department (GCHD) in Brunswick, Georgia, for a National Community-Based Lead Outreach and Training Grant.
The GCHD's "Get the Lead Out" program will address community education involving proper lead identification and residential removal of lead contaminants in homes occupied by children.
The project will:
- Train professional contractors in proper lead abatement ,
- Educate people in the community to identify a lead problem in their home, and
- Involve the State Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program in the effort to educate all practicing physicians within the Brunswick area to collaborate on fulfilling the objectives and goals of this grant.
This project will focus on minority children living in pre-1950 houses contaminated with lead-based paint and other risk factors that influence lead poisoning. With the availability of GIS identification and tracking facilitated by the Georgia Department of Human Resources lead program, GCHD has the capability to generate maps identifying areas with 100% pre-1950 houses overlaid by Medicaid children. This tool will assist this project to target schools, communities and physicians in these risk areas.
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.