Springfield receives $5.8 million to remove lead from children’s homes

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield received a total of $5.82 million to test for lead in homes of children ages 6 or under and remediate any problems found.

The City Council voted to accept grant funding from both the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state Office for Administration and Finance.

The funding breaks down to a $5.12 million Lead Hazard Reduction Grant from HUD and a state match of 10% was required, but the state committed up to $700,000 in funds for the project.

The grant award letter explained that the program is designed to protect the highest number of children under age 6 from lead poisoning and mitigate lead-based hazards. Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development officer for housing, community development and neighborhoods, said, “The grant will cover assessment and remediation of approximately 120 units throughout the city” and “limited healthy homes interventions.” A portion of the funding will be used for outreach and education about the dangers of lead. The funding will cover four years of the program.

The most common source of lead in homes is from paint and the dust it contaminates. In 1978, the federal government banned consumer use of lead paint. Houses built before then, however, often contain lead paint, which is dangerous for infants and toddlers who may ingest paint chips. Sixty-nine percent of homes built between 1940 and 1959 have lead paint, while 87% of homes built prior to that contain the toxin. Lead can also be found in soil and drinking water.

Ward 1 City Councilor Maria Perez praised the city for securing the grant. “As the former chief of housing, when we would try to stabilize the family, if they had minors in the house, we could not move them in” to homes containing lead, said Perez.

Ward 8 City Councilor Zaida Goan said, “This is a very important issue and I think it will help in increasing the housing availability in the city.”
At Large City Councilor Brian Santaniello noted that some of the funding will be used to test for radon, a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas, which is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. About 25% of homes in Massachusetts contain radon at levels deemed dangerous. Quagliato Sullivan said the city Office of Housing, Community Development and Neighborhoods already regularly tests homes for radon and has not found any that exceed dangerous levels.

Quagliato Sullivan noted that a $20 million Community Change Grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that the city was slated to get contained $5 million for this work, but it was canceled by President Donald Trump’s administration.