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Inspections called for every five years
To prevent lead poisoning, the state has adopted a law requiring landlords who own single- and two-family homes to have their units inspected every five years for hazardous lead-based paint and to remediate when a hazard is found.
The law, signed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Jan. 4, is an effort to limit human exposure to lead. If lead-based paint is ingested or inhaled at high levels it can lead to brain damage and reduced motor skills, especially in young children.
Angie Tapia, regional organizer for Citizen Action, a Newark-based not-for-profit that receives a state grant to educate residents about lead poisoning, said the law is a step in the right direction.
"We consider (the law) a major victory. It will clue in families who wouldn't have otherwise known their homes would put them at risk. It opens the door for education," Tapia said.
Previously, the state required paint inspections only for multi-unit dwellings. Remediation for lead-based paint was only required for single- and two-family homes when a child had already been poisoned by lead, said Tom Slater, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
Landlords in Passaic County and elsewhere in the state will need to pay a fee for the inspection of $43 for the first unit, then $20 for additional units being inspected, said Chris Donnelly, spokesman for the Department of Community Affairs, the agency enforcing the law. The state hasn't set a date when it will begin inspections. They first need to create a registry of affected properties, Donnelly said.
If units are found to have hazardous lead-based paint and the landlord doesn't remediate, a first-time fine runs up to $500. Continuing violations carry a maximum penalty of $5,000, Donnelly said. Landlords have the option of hiring a company to perform the inspection themselves, he said.
Exempt from the law are homes built after 1978, seasonal units, and landlords who can produce a certificate showing no hazard. In 1978 the paint industry stopped using lead to make paint.
Clifton Health Officer John Biegel said that the city investigated 13 cases last year in which a child was found to have been poisoned by lead, he said.
Window sills in particular are dangerous for lead poisoning, due to the chaffing of old wood caused by opening and closing windows, Biegel said. Paint chips are sweet, and children sometimes eat them, he said.
In Paterson, it's unclear exactly how the new law will be enforced. The city already has a law, passed in 1985, that requires landlords to pay for lead-paint inspections prior to selling a residential property or renting to a new tenant.
Paterson's law merely forces inspection and disclosure of lead levels in a given residence, however.
The city does not require landlords to rid a residence of hazardous lead paint, said Joseph Surowiec, Paterson's health officer.
The city encourages landlords to remediate and encourages them to get low-interest loans through the state Lead Hazard Control Assistance Act, he said.
Paterson charges $150 to inspect up to three housing units and $40 for each additional unit. Inspection certificates are valid for a year.
During 2007, the city fielded 862 applications for inspections, said Violeta Good, the city's environmental specialist. Roughly 80 percent of the city's housing stock was built before 1978, Surowiec said.
Paterson parents can call the Paterson Health Division to schedule a free lead screening for children under 6 years old. Call Nancy Grinyer, the city's lead-poisoning testing program coordinator, at (973) 321-1277 extension 2379.
Last year, the city detected 128 children with lead poisoning, of 5,327 tested, Grinyer said.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services does not keep statistics on the number of people diagnosed with lead poisoning, said Slater, the agency spokesman. For more information on lead-poisoning prevention, see: www.state.nj.us/dca/dcr/leadsafe/.
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