New Jersey County Receives More Than $3M for Lead Paint Abatement

Bergen County, N.J., received a $3.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to remove lead hazards from homes in the area, Patch reports. The county will focus its efforts on homes constructed before 1978 and the roughly 21,000 housing units predating 1940.

The HUD grant is intended to assist low-income families who are either renting or own a home and lack the financial means to mitigate their families' exposure to lead. The County will work with contractors to remove lead paint hazards within the house itself on walls, windows and doors, ceilings, and floors, but does not include plumbing.

"Under this grant, the County will be able to perform assessments and remove lead paint and other lead hazards affecting hundreds of residents," said County Executive James J. Tedesco. "Working with our federal legislators, this is an important step in our overall efforts to eliminate the hazards posed by lead inside and outside the home."

In February 2018, the County similarly received approximately $375,000 in annual grant funding from the New Jersey Department of Health for the Childhood Lead Exposure Prevention (CLEP) program, which allows the County to perform assessments on homes and track lead exposure in children who have tested positive for blood lead levels in excess of 5 µg/dL.