Slaughter, Franken Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Effort to Curb Lead Poisoning

November 3, 2016

Press Release

Urge the International Code Council to adopt commonsense reforms to ensure renovated homes are free of lead

WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) and Senator Al Franken (MN) today led a bipartisan, bicameral effort urging the International Code Council (ICC) to make commonsense reforms that would ensure renovated homes built prior to 1978 are free from hazardous levels of lead dust, which could cause lifelong cognitive damage in children. Similar reforms have already been passed into law in the City of Rochester and the State of Minnesota.

“The consequences of unsafe construction practices in homes with lead paint can be disastrous, as there is no safe level of lead exposure. In fact, children are especially at risk, since exposure has been associated with several adverse effects including behavioral and learning problems, lower IQ, hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, and anemia,” Slaughter and Franken wrote, along with colleagues in the House and Senate. The proposed change to the building code is narrowly tailored and based on effective policies already in place in communities across the country, including the City of Rochester, New York and the State of Minnesota.

In the letter to the President of the ICC, Slaughter and Franken ask the council to adopt a commonsense code change proposed by the National Center for Healthy Housing. The proposal would simply require that any contractor that seeks to obtain a building permit to conduct renovations in buildings constructed prior to 1978 include the appropriate safety certification as part of the permit application process to ensure that no hazardous levels of lead dust are left behind.

The ICC develops the building codes and standards used throughout the United States. It is already a federal requirement that all contractors be lead-safe certified yet there is no requirement that the contractor provide proof of this certification to the local municipality. Only two places in the country have passed strong laws that require this proof, the City of Rochester and the State of Minnesota. Since 2011, when the Minnesota state legislature adopted this policy, the EPA has seen a 40 percent increase in contractors earning their lead safety certification.

Lead is a highly toxic metal that when absorbed by the skin, inhaled, or swallowed can cause behavioral and cognitive problems, damage to vital organs, and mental and physical development problems. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that there are approximately half a million U.S. children ages 1-5 with blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter, the reference level at which CDC recommends public health actions be initiated. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Because lead exposure often occurs with no obvious symptoms, it frequently goes unrecognized.

Slaughter has been one of the nation’s leading advocates working to protect children and communities from lead poisoning. Last year, Slaughter pushed the Department of Justice for a federal investigation into abuse of lead-poisoning victims and pressed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look into potentially predatory practices targeting these victims. In 2007, she worked with then-Senator Obama to introduce legislation to protect against lead poisoning and last year successfully secured $110 million to support efforts to prevent lead poisoning. She also wrote and passed legislation that restored $35 million to the Office of Lead Control at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Sen. Franken has long fought to protect children and families from exposure to toxic substances. In the past he has introduced legislation to ban the use of toxic metals in children’s products to make sure children aren’t at risk of exposure to known carcinogens and other heavy metals. He also proposed a law to require household product ingredient labeling so families with small children, who have more direct contact with floors and household surfaces can avoid exposure to toxic contaminants. This year, the crisis in Flint, Michigan helped to expose a national lead problem in our infrastructure, which is why Senator Franken pressed to pass the Water Resources Development Act out of the Senate. The bill provides Flint and other communities around the country resources to deal with lead in water pipes. And most recently, Senator Franken supported legislation to make key reforms to Housing and Urban Development authorities and a new tax credit for homeowners to remove lead.

A copy of the letter is included below and available online here:

November 3, 2016

Alex “Cash” Olszowy III
President
International Code Council
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Mr. Olszowy,

We write to commend your efforts to ensure safe and healthy communities by establishing strong building standards, and to express support for a proposal before the International Code Council (ICC) that would improve protections from lead hazards. We encourage the ICC to support this common-sense amendment to reduce lead exposure and help protect children across the country from lead poisoning.

The proposed amendment (ADM78-16) is narrowly tailored and based on effective policies already in place in communities across the country, including the City of Rochester, New York and the State of Minnesota. The proposal would require contractors seeking a building permit to conduct renovations in homes built prior to 1978 to show proof of lead safety training certification from the Environmental Protection Agency or a state approved organization. This requirement would help ensure that any lead hazards are handled appropriately by qualified contractors. Since federal guidance already requires all contractors to participate in lead safety certification, the proposal should not impose any unreasonable burdens. Rather, this amendment would help improve compliance with existing federal regulations and level the playing field with renovators who are in compliance. Adopting this amendment would in no way make code officials responsible for enforcing the existing federal regulations.

Requiring proof of lead safety certification has already been successful in encouraging contractors to participate in the federally required safety training. When the Minnesota state legislature adopted a similar policy requiring contractors to show proof of certification in order to obtain construction permits for pre-1978 buildings, the EPA saw a 40 percent increase in contractors earning their lead safety certification after the implementation of the rule in 2011.

Homes built prior to 1978 are far more likely to contain lead paint because the federal government did not ban consumer use of lead paint until this time. The consequences of unsafe construction practices in homes with lead paint can be disastrous, as there is no safe level of lead exposure. In fact, children are especially at risk, since exposure has been associated with several adverse effects including behavioral and learning problems, lower IQ, hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, and anemia. Despite these known risks, lead-based paint remains the primary source of lead exposure to the approximately half a million children with elevated blood lead levels.

For this reason, we ask the ICC to continue their efforts to ensure safe and healthy communities, and help prevent the adverse health risks of lead exposure by adopting the amendment requiring proof of lead-safety certification.

Sincerely,

Louise M. Slaughter Al Franken

Member of Congress U.S. Senator

Richard J. Durbin Elizabeth Warren

U.S. Senator U.S. Senator

Debbie Stabenow Ron Wyden

U.S. Senator U.S. Senator

Gary C. Peters Jeanne Shaheen

U.S. Senator U.S. Senator

Kristen Gillibrand

U.S. Senator

Raúl M. Grijalva Elijah E. Cummings