Introducing NCHH’s State Healthy Housing Fact Sheets: EPA Region 6
by Sarah Goodwin
We’re over halfway through this 10-part blog series. You may also be interested in reading about EPA Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4, and Region 5.
Last year, NCHH undertook the challenge of creating fact sheets, and throughout 2018, we’re posting highlights of our state fact sheets by EPA region, one region per month. In June, we’re looking at EPA Region 6, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Points of interest from these states include:
- Unintentional falls were responsible for a combined 2,328 deaths among adults over 65 in 2015 between Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. In Oklahoma, nine older adults die from fall injuries each week.
- Areas with high levels of radon in this region include seven counties in northern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle.
- Several of these states have reported large numbers of children testing with elevated blood lead levels (5 µg/dL or more):
- In 2015, 3,505 Louisiana children tested with an elevated blood lead level; three parishes (Orleans, Claiborne, and Tangipahoa) saw over 10% of their children test above this level.
- In 2016, 420 New Mexico children tested with an elevated blood lead level.
- In 2015, 1,213 Oklahoma children tested with an elevated blood lead level.
- In 2011, 5,693 Texas children tested with an elevated blood lead level.
- Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization for children between one and 17 in Arkansas. In Oklahoma, asthma was responsible for 1,928 hospitalizations, or $18.5 million in charges, for children under 15 in 2012 alone.
- Between 41% (Texas) and 55% (Oklahoma) of housing in this region was built before 1978 and is likely to contain lead-based paint.
- On average, carbon monoxide exposure kills 46 people annually in Texas. This number is 44 for the other four states in this region combined.
- None of these states received funding in recent years from all of the federal programs we track.
Other NCHH Resources
- The Health Impact Project’s 10 Policies to Prevent and Respond to Childhood Lead Exposure report features a case study into lead poisoning prevention from New Orleans, Louisiana. One of the Lead Poisoning Awareness Community Mini-Grants, facilitated by NCHH in conjunction with the report, was awarded to New Orleans as well.
- NCHH’s Creating a Healthy Home: A Field Guide for Cleanup of Flooded Homes was created for the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and remains a useful resources for families dealing with the aftermath of flooding. A Spanish-language edition is also available.
- Read about how Dallas, Texas, used the National Healthy Housing Standard to improve and strengthen their housing codes.
- Use this list of building code resources to identify building codes in your state and locality.
NCHH’s state fact sheets will be updated annually with current information. For questions or comments, please email Laura Fudala at lfudala@nchh.org.
Sarah Goodwin joined NCHH as a Policy Analyst in June 2017. She previously served NCHH as a policy intern, helping to establish and run the Find It, Fix It, Fund It lead action drive and its workgroups. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from American University.