Project Funder: The Town of Manchester, Connecticut
Project Contact: Jonathan Wilson, jwilson@nchh.org; 443.539.4162
Project Description
NCHH was engaged to evaluate the Town of Manchester’s effectiveness of its lead hazard control program to reduce interior dust lead loadings significantly. Units were evaluated through dust wipe sampling and visual inspections conducted immediately before and after intervention and 12 to 24 months after intervention. Dust sampling results for these three sampling phases were compared with HUD standards of 40, 250, and 400 g/ft2 for floors, windowsills and window troughs, respectively.
Overall, Manchester’s program was found to be performing comparably to (if not better than) other HUD grant programs that had been studied. One to two years after treatment, approximately 50% of the 41 units had dust lead loadings for at least one surface type that exceeded clearance standards; this finding was lower than that found during the HUD National Evaluation of Lead Hazard Control Programs, in which 68% of units had dust lead loadings exceeding standards. Interestingly, before treatment, 82% of bare floor samples had results less than 20 g/ft2. The evaluation also served as an impetus to the Connecticut state laboratory to become an EPA-recognized participant in the National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program and to improve its quality control/quality assurance program.
Latest page update: October 10, 2017.