[MassHistPres] Deleading

[Jeff Levine]

I would caution anyone who cares about the long-term viability of historic
neighborhoods from taking a flip attitude towards deleading as a public
health issue. Lead poisoning is a documented public health hazard that
affects children at their most sensitive developmental ages. The possible
impacts are significant. The merits of how the regulations require it be
done aside, the fact is that some kids get lead poisoning much more easily
than others. Once blood lead levels reach a certain point the state
requires that an owner test the house and have lead abatement done. Since
a historic house will hopefully last for hundreds of years and have many
future families in it, its in all of our interests to encourage
appropriate lead abatement of these homes.

I once asked a public health specialist at the state who works for the DPH
child lead poisoning program whether she thought the currently required
methods made any sense, given that the research showed that many children
did not eat the paint but rather just got a lot of dust on their hands,
etc., and accidently ingested it - or even just had one strong exposure to
it. Her reply was along the lines of "well, all I know is that we do lead
abatement of houses and the kids lead levels go down, so we must be doing
something right." I tend to agree with her on a macro level - the less
lead in the house, the less likely kids will get lead poisoning.

As to the merits of how to lead abate:

1. Lead abatement does not mean fully "deleaded." It means that mouthable
surfaces be stripped of lead-based paint and the house cleaned thoroughly
using certain standards. Dust wipes are then taken that much be below some
very low standards to allow reoccupancy. 

2. Windows, doors, and even casing can be removed and dipped. The wood
will still have lead in it but its considered acceptable to abate that
way. The problem is time- dipping and reinstalling takes much longer than
putting in new windows. If a family is forced to get out of their house to
delead- especially in the unfortunate cases where the lead levels are high
enough that the state is forcing them to delead right away- they are very
interested in getting back in the house ASAP.  That is why, even for
preservation-minded folk, window replacement is very tempting at this
stressful time. Plus, the cost of dipping, reinstalling,
reweatherstripping, and repainting is often significantly higher than just
replacement. Since deleading is very expensive, people are more sensitive
to this issue that they may be at other times.

3. Walls and some wood can be left with lead paint on it. There is no need
to worry that horsehair plaster, etc., will be ripped out as part of a
deleading. The paint has to be intact, but does not have to be stripped.

4. The unfortunate truth is that lead abatement contractors often do not
do high quality finish work. That is why houses often look lousy when the
deleading is done. If you get the right contractors, they will be
sensitive to the historic nature of the house and either replace in kind
or save existing materials as much as possible. Costs may be higher, but
many people will be willing to pay a bit more to save more of the home's
historic character. That willingness to pay does have its limits, though.
Remember, when a parent is doing lead abatement they are likely very
stressed out about the health of their kids and should be treated even
more sensitively than any other homeowner doing work on a historic home.
This is a perfect situation to consider a Certificate of Hardship if the
property is in an LHD and the cost differential is significant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Levine
Director
Department of Planning and Community Development
Town of Brookline
333 Washington Street Third Floor
Brookline, MA

617-730-2130 (v)
617-730-2442 (f)

Email:    Jeff_Levine at town.brookline.ma.us
www:  http://www.brooklinema.gov/Planning/

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