![Impact and friction surfaces like door jambs can be especially at risk for chipped and peeling paint. [Nick Castele / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d6f5f36/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1884x1060+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F8%2F01%2F0711doorjamb.png)
Cleveland’s new lead paint law requires landlords to obtain certificates showing their rentals don’t pose a major risk for lead poisoning.
Most housing in the city was built before lead paint was banned in 1978 and likely still contains lead somewhere.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes an extensive guide to identifying and dealing with lead risks. The Environmental Protection Agency also has several different pamphlets on the topic.
The first places to look are what Akbar Tyler of Cleveland's Environmental Health Watch calls “impact friction surfaces.” The list includes stairs, doorjambs, window frames — anywhere continual bumping, sliding or stepping wears away at newer paint, exposing the lead beneath.
Tyler gave ideastream a lead safety tour of a house in Lakewood recently. The first stop: a painted concrete front stoop.
“These steps are so close, people will step on this, and it will deteriorate any paint,” he said. “So you have to take abatement measures on this — meaning you have to strip all the lead paint off or replace it.”
Experts say contractors should wet paint down before scraping it, avoid using sanders or heat guns, lay down plastic sheeting in the work area and clean up thoroughly afterward. Contractors who do the work should be certified in lead-safe practices.
Painted steps and porches can pose another risk. Tyler said he typically covers up porches with new floors to contain the paint. They can also be painted over — an option that requires regular cleaning and maintenance.
Tyler found another potential lead hazard in the painted wooden threshold between the porch and the floor inside the house.
“When I go into houses, these are usually always painted with lead paint,” he said. “I don’t know what it was with the lead paint. And they have to be replaced or stripped.”
Lead-check swabs and more intensive dust wipe tests can help identify the presence of lead paint residue in homes. [Nick Castele / ideastream]
Inside, Tyler headed to the kitchen, where a pair of painted windows looks out on the driveway. Windows like these can produce lead dust — tiny particles of disintegrated paint.
“You see the little stuff falling?” Tyler said after opening and closing the window. “So that rubbing is a friction surface. If these things are painted with lead — the sash and the window jamb — lead dust is just going to fall, fall, spread, fall, and all this will just be full of lead dust.”
Tyler recommended replacing windows like these.
“It’s a major pathway for children to get poisoned,” he said. “So taking this sash out, pulling this parting stop out and popping a new vinyl window in here will eliminate that hazard.”
New windows might cost $150 to $175 each, he estimated. Hiring a lead-certified contractor like him to do the work could bump that up to $350 per window.
The work Tyler described is a combination of abatement measures, like replacing windows, and what are called “interim controls,” like adding fresh coats of paint.
It’s the kind of work Cuyahoga County and Cleveland currently fund with federal lead hazard control grants. In Lakewood, that lead abatement cost averages about $9,000 per unit, according to the county board of health.
There are cheaper ways to go.
Cleveland is not asking all landlords to call in contractors in hazmat suits to fully abate their properties, according to Tony Skerski, a licensed lead risk assessor and former city health inspector.
“They’re saying that if you’re a landlord, just to maintain your painted surfaces, and we’re just going to check and see if there’s lead dust that needs to be cleaned up—just cleaned up,” he said.
Skerski said landlords should make sure there’s no chipped, peeling or damaged paint in the units.
Take windows, for example. Peeling paint can be wet-scraped and repainted, Skerski said. Contractors can install aluminum in window wells and in window tracks to reduce lead dust and make it easier to clean. But it’s not as long-lasting a fix as replacing the window.
As for cleaning the house, Skerski said it’s best to use a filtered HEPA vacuum and disposable wet towels.
“Just a moistened towel, and when you see the dust on the rag, you make sure that you don’t put that on another new area that you’re cleaning,” he said.
Cleveland is still some ways off from requiring landlords to get lead clearance tests. The requirements phase in between March 2021 and March 2023.
In the meantime, the city and its partners plan to set up a lead safe resource center for landlords and homeowners — and to raise money to help property owners protect residents from lead.
