All residential units built in the District before 1978 must be inspected by the city for lead paint and cleared of any contamination before they are occupied by a pregnant woman or children under 6, the D.C. Council decided Tuesday.
The anti-lead bill, adopted unanimously, was nearly a decade in the making. Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham, who ushered the measure through the legislative process, first introduced it in February 1999.
“We’re still using our children as lead detectors,” Graham said during Tuesday’s legislative meeting. “We’re still finding out about the presence of lead in a dwelling unit when a child becomes infected.”
Most D.C. residences built before 1978 contain lead-based paint and every year hundreds of children are found to have blood lead levels higher than considered safe. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, stunted growth and impaired hearing.
Among its provisions, the legislation mandates an inspection at turnover of all pre-1978 rental units if a pregnant woman or child under 6 will be moving in. Those same at-risk populations can request an inspection, that the Department of the Environment must perform, if they already live in a suspect unit when the bill becomes law.
An earlier version called for inspections for almost every apartment at turnover, but was narrowed during last- minute negotiations. The council on Tuesday rejected an attempt by Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh to revive the broader protections.
“If we’re serious about this,” Cheh said Wednesday, “how can we say to the children who are already there, ‘Too bad for you.’ ”
The bill also authorizes the mayor to inspect any property when it is believed to be a lead paint hazard — from falling paint chips, for example. The property owner must abate any discovered threat, pay for temporary relocation costs for the affected family, and provide a clearance report that the unit is free of lead.
W. Shaun Pharr, with the Apartment and Office Building Association, said the final legislation provides “more focused and efficient use of limited resources that protects persons at risk.” Harrison Newton, director of Lead Safe DC, called the bill a “turning of the page for the families of Washington, D.C.”
