A seven million dollar grant will help San Diego continue to remove lead-hazards from older city homes. KPBS reporter Katie Orr has details.
The US Department of Housing and Urban development gave the city the grant. Rick Gentry is the CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission , the organization that will be using the money. He says the grant will cover lead removal or containment for more than 500 homes. It will be targeted to homes with children under the age of six.
Gentry: So you don’t have to remove it to make it safe, although you can. But you’ve got to put it out of the reach of kids where they can get their mouths on it and start chewing and ingesting it.
Young children are at high risk of lead poisoning because their bodies are smaller. Gentry says the city’s lead abatement program has been operating since 2002 and has already helped more than 700 homes.
Katie Orr, KPBS
