For families in covered federally owned or assisted housing built before 1978, HUD’s January 13, 2017 rule connects a young child’s confirmed elevated blood lead level with a housing response. This January 14 weekend account concerns that Friday publication. The population covered by the definition is children under six, subject to the rule’s housing-program scope and exceptions. [2017-00261]

In the public-housing provision, notification from a public health department or other medical provider triggers an environmental investigation of the child’s unit and associated common areas. The housing agency generally has 15 calendar days to complete it. Prior qualifying investigations or evaluations can change what remains necessary; the rule does not simply require every home and child to undergo identical testing. [2017-00261]

HUD’s September 2016 proposal explains the reference value behind the change. It described a blood lead concentration equaled or exceeded by 2.5 percent of U.S. children aged one to five, then 5 micrograms per deciliter. That statistical population is not identical to the rule’s under-six coverage, and the value is not a boundary below which exposure is harmless. [2016-20955][2017-00261]

The final rule scheduled February 13 effectiveness and July 13 compliance. It also requires a HUD notice process before applying later changes in the federal health guidance value. Proposal and final rule trace the same policy development, not independent evidence that children became healthier. The concrete protection is an assigned response to evidence of exposure, with responsibilities that vary by housing program. [2017-00261][2016-20955]

Source documents

  1. Requirements for Notification, Evaluation and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Federally Owned Residential Property and Housing Receiving Federal Assistance; Response to Elevated Blood Lead Levelshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-13/html/2017-00261.htm
  2. Requirements for Notification, Evaluation and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Federally Owned Residential Property and Housing Receiving Federal Assistance; Response to Elevated Blood Lead Levelshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-09-01/html/2016-20955.htm