Ohio County Receives Nearly $5M Grant for Lead Removal

Mahoning County in Ohio has received a $4.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to remediate lead-paint hazards. The funding will help remediate lead-paint threats in around 170 households in the county, The Vindicator reports.

The Mahoning County Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control Program, Healthy Homes department director Phil Puryear said, mostly handles lead mitigation for low-to-moderate income households with children 6 years old and younger. The funds can be used by people who own their homes or rent them. In rental homes, the grant will cover the cost of eliminating lead hazards up to $10,000, and any cost more than that is paid by the landlord.

The lead is not completely removed in most projects because the cost per property needs to be kept to less than $25,000. It is mitigated by replacing things like windows because of the potential to release lead dust or chips with a lot of use, covering old siding with new siding, and scraping and repainting over other areas of chipping paint in the homes, Puryear said.

The funds support the cost of licensed risk assessments in referred properties, along with funds for the family to stay in an alternative place while remediation work is completed, Puryear said.