Bill Meucci is a landlord in Bangor who owns 16 buildings, each containing three to five apartments. "They're in different parts of Bangor here, some on the east side, you got some on the west side. I have one in Brewer, which is the old Footman Dairy building in which we have 11 or 12 tenants. But when we go in we generally tear all the wood casings off that we think may be contaminated with lead base."
Meucci says he hasn't ever had a tenant complain of lead poisoning, but he's come to learn more about lead hazards, liability and state and federal requirements. "No landlord wants to go through all this stuff. No one does. So I think all landlords is going to take as much precaution as they can to see that their work is done according to the rules and regulations that the EPA puts out."
"One of our major concerns is children - particularly 1, 2, 3 year olds," says Eric Frohmberg, manager of the state's childhood lead poisoning prevention program. He says the most common source of poison is lead dust that collects on toys and other surfaces where children put their hands. There are an estimated one thousand Maine children under six years old with elevated blood lead levels.
And just five communities account for 40 percent of all newly identified cases, he says. "Statewide, about 40 to 50 percent of the children who get poisoned are in private homes, the remainder are in landlord apartments. In our five identity areas, which are Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn, Portland, Sanford and Saco-Biddeford, in those areas, the percent of children who get poisoned in an apartment building is closer to 80 or 90 percent."
It's unclear why that's the case, but Frohmberg says it's all the more reason to teach landlords about new rules. "The EPA "RRP" rule, which is being implemented by EPA -- RRP stands for renovations, repair and painting -- and basically it says that if you disturb lead paint and get financial reimbursement for those activities, then you need to be trained by EPA on how to do that safely."
The eight-hour training course is targeted toward landlords, contractors, carpenters and painters, and is offered through the Maine Labor Group on Health. If a child is found to have lead poisoning in an apartment setting, the state gets involved. Lead poisoning can lead to physical and mental disabilities, and even low levels of lead poisoning have been linked to lowered IQ, hearing impairmant, hyperactivity and aggressive behavior.
"We post the apartment, we may require that the child get relocated at the landlord's expense, and we inspect all the units within the building and if we find lead hazards, those lead hazards have to be abated, and that can cost as much as $10,000 per unit," Frohmberg says. "There are funds available to help with that but there are obviously income requirements and requirements associated with those funds."
There are other resources available at community agencies, such as Penquis in Bangor, where Michael Bush is a housing developer. "We have a HEPA vacuum that we make available for $5 that's a very good vacuum for vacuuming lead dust," Bush says. "We also offer testing, both on a private basis and through various state programs, that can help identify where lead is and how to remediate it, and can provide grant moneys to help do that."
More information on lead poisoning, it's effects and remediation can be found on the state Department of Health and Human Services Web site.