Project Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Project Partners: Chicago Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Watch, St. Paul-Ramsey County (MN) Public Health, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, University of Cincinnati
Project Contact: Jonathan Wilson, jwilson@nchh.org, 443.539.4162
Project Description
This study was the first to estimate the effectiveness of lead hazard controls and window treatments more than a decade after their implementation, making it the longest time period ever to examine the durability of residential lead hazard control. Specifically, this study was the first to compare the effects of window replacement versus other window treatments and lead hazard control methods. While window replacement has emerged as an increasingly popular form of lead hazard control in HUD’s lead hazard control grant program, there had been no study prior to this to examine window replacement per se.
Earlier studies tended to combine window replacement with other window lead hazard controls, such as installation of jamb liners and trough and sill enclosure/cap systems, resulting in a lack of knowledge about the relative merits of window replacement versus window repair. Analysis of data from a six-year follow-up study suggested that dwellings with window replacement tended to have lower floor dust lead loadings.
The study’s findings provided empirical evidence that window replacement not only removes lead paint from the home and reduces window dust lead loadings but also influences floor dust lead. Other studies have also examined the positive effects of window replacement on energy conservation, market value, and climate change.
Resources
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 Later. Environmental Research, 113, 14-20.
Press Release: New Study Shows Window Replacement Delivers Continued Benefit Up to 12 Years Later.
Last page update: November 24, 2021.