Evaluations of Lead Hazard Interventions in Connecticut

Children put their sticky hands and toys in the dust then into their mouths

Goal The Center was hired by the City of Manchester, Connecticut to evaluate the effectiveness of its lead hazard control program to significantly reduce interior dust lead loadings.

Description Forty-one units were evaluated through dust wipe sampling and visual inspections conducted immediately before and after intervention and 12 to 24 month after intervention. Dust sampling results for these three sampling phases were compared with HUD standards of 40, 250 and 400 g/ft2 for floors, window sills and window troughs, respectively.

Results and Conclusions Overall, Manchester's program was found to be performing comparably to (if not better than) other HUD grant programs that have been studied. One to two years after treatment, approximately 50% of the 41 units had dust lead loadings for at least one surface type that exceeded clearance standards; this finding was lower than that found during the HUD National Evaluation of Lead Hazard Control Programs, in which 68% of units had dust lead loadings exceeding standards. Interestingly, before treatment, 82% of bare floor samples had results less than 20 g/ft2. The evaluation also served as an impetus to the Connecticut state laboratory to become an EPA-recognized participant in the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program and to improve its quality control/quality assurance program.

This page last updated:
10/01/01

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