Lead Poisoning Prevention Research Projects

NCHH’s long and rich history in the research of and fight against lead poisoning goes back to its inception in 1992 as the National Center for Lead-Safe Housing. While the organization elected in 2001 to broaden its scope to include other aspects of healthy housing (resulting in its name change to the National Center for Healthy Housing), the organization has continued its lead research and advocacy efforts.

NCHH’s research projects have examined lead on porches, windows, in soil, in common areas and elsewhere. Communities in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin were among the research sites. NCHH has also examined lead-related laws in Maryland and Wisconsin and even contributed notes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as they designed the groundbreaking Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule and lead hazard standards. NCHH carried out the evaluation of the HUD Lead Hazard Control Grant program, the nation’s largest and longest evaluation of the effectiveness of modern lead hazard control methods, covering thousands of housing units in 14 jurisdictions across the country.

Since achieving healthy housing involves taking a holistic view of the home, some of the research projects listed below may not only be about lead poisoning prevention; however, lead poisoning prevention is a component of each project.

NCHH’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Research Projects

Analysis of Benefits of Abatement Techniques and Effectiveness in the HOME Study (ABATE HOME)*
Cincinnati Home Project
Comprehensive Lead Education and Reduction through Window Replacement (CLEAR WIN)
Creating a Lead Evaluation and Assessment Reporting System (CLEARS)*
Effectiveness of a One-Time Professional Cleaning
Effectiveness of Maryland’s Lead Law (MD 760)
Effectiveness of Walk-Off Mats in Reducing Interior Dust Lead
Evaluation of the Milwaukee Lead Ordinance
Evaluation of the City of Rochester’s Lead Law
Evaluation of Lead Hazard Interventions in Connecticut
Evaluation of the HUD Lead Hazard Control Grant Program
Field Dust Lead Test Kit Reliability Study
Home-Based Child Care Lead Safety Program
Housing and Health: A 30-Year Retrospective Analysis
HUD Retrospective Evaluation
Lead Dust and Blood Lead Analysis Using NHANES
Lead Dust and Housing Demolition
Lead Dust Cleaning Study in Vermont
Lead Exterior Dust on Porches
Lead Hazard Assessment Tool
Lead Hazards in Common Areas
Lead Poisoning Prevention Six-Year Follow-Up
Lead Poisoning Prevention Using Walk-Off Mats
Lead Risk Assessment Study in Three Communities
Lead Soil Treatment Study in Boston
Michigan Children’s Lead Determination Study (MI CHILD)
NIEHS Windows Study
Nongovernmental Efforts to Address Lead Hazards
Preventing Child Lead Exposure by Replacing Windows
Providence Healthy Homes
Relationship of Lead-Painted Fire Escapes and Interior Dust Lead
Rhode Island Nurses Study
Rochester Lead-in-Dust Study
Weatherization and Lead Safety
Window Replacement and Long-Term Lead Control

*This is a current research project.

Recommended Reading

The Health Impact Project. [National Center for Healthy Housing is listed as a study partner.] (2017, August 30). 10 policies to prevent and respond to childhood lead exposure. Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts.

National Center for Healthy Housing. (2012, July). Guidelines for the evaluation and control of lead-based paint hazards in housing: Second edition. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.

Brown, M. J., Gardner, J., Sargent, J. D., Swartz, K., Hu, H., & Timperi R. (2001). The effectiveness of housing policies in reducing children’s lead exposureAmerican Journal of Public Health, 91(4), 621-624.

Clark, S., Galke, W., Succop, P., Grote, J., McLaine, P., Wilson, J., Dixon, S., Menrath, W., Roda, S., Chen, M., Bornschein, R., & Jacobs, D. (2011, February). Effects of HUD-supported lead hazard control interventions in housing on children’s blood leadEnvironmental Research, 111(2), 301-311.

Dixon, S. L., Jacobs, D. E., Wilson, J. W., Akoto, J. Y., Nevin, R., & Clark, C. S. (2012, February). Window replacement and residential lead paint hazard control 12 years laterEnvironmental Research, 113, 14-20.

Leighton, J., Klitzman, S., Sedlar, S., Matte, T., & Cohen, N. L. (2003, July). The effect of lead-based paint hazard remediation on blood lead levels of lead poisoned children in New York CityEnvironmental Research, 92(3), 182-190.

Strauss, W., Pivetz, T., Ashley, P., Menkedick, J., Slone, E., & Cameron, S. (2005, October). Evaluation of lead hazard control treatments in four Massachusetts communities through analysis of blood-lead surveillance data. Environmental Research, 99(2), 214-223.

Lanphear, B. P., Rauch, S., Auinger, P., Allen, R. W., & Hornung, R. W. (2018, March 12). Low-level lead exposure and mortality in US adults: A population-based cohort study. The Lancet, 3, e177-e184.

 

Latest page update: February 20, 2024.