HUD Has Given Passing Inspection Grades For Years To Buildings Filled With Toxic Mold And Peeling Lead-Based Paint
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has fielded complaints for years about flaws with its inspection system, particularly with respect to its complicated scoring algorithm that struggles to tell the difference between unsafe properties and decent ones. An investigation by The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica reveals the dangerous conditions that low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities are living in.
ProPublica and The Southern Illinoisan:
'Pretty Much A Failure': HUD Inspections Pass Dangerous Apartments Filled With Rats, Roaches And Toxic Mold
Apartment complexes subsidized by HUD collectively house more than 2 million low-income families around the country. Some are run by public housing authorities and others are owned by private for-profit or nonprofit landlords. By law, the owners of such complexes must pass inspections demonstrating they are decent, safe and sanitary in exchange for millions of dollars in federal money each year. But as thousands of renters across the country have discovered, passing scores on HUD inspections often don’t match the reality of renters’ living conditions. The two-decade-old inspection system — the federal housing agency’s primary oversight tool — is failing low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities and undermining the agency’s oversight of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded rental subsidies, an investigation by The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica has found.(Parker, 11/16)
In other environmental health news —
The New York Times:
Tests Showed Children Were Exposed To Lead. The Official Response: Challenge The Tests
Mikaila Bonaparte has spent her entire life under the roof of the New York City Housing Authority, the oldest and largest public housing system in the country, where as a toddler she nibbled on paint chips that flaked to the floor. In the summer of 2016, when she was not quite 3 years old, a test by her doctor showed she had lead in her blood at levels rarely seen in modern New York. A retest two days later revealed an even higher level, one more commonly found in factory or construction workers and, in some cases, enough to cause irreversible brain damage. (Goodman, Baker and Glanz, 11/18)
The Associated Press:
Experts: Children At Risk Of Lead Poisoning In Chattanooga
Health experts are urging people living near a Chattanooga Superfund site to have their children tested for lead contamination. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the Environmental Protection Agency discussed its remediation plans at a Thursday community meeting after the Southside Chattanooga Lead Site was put on the Superfund National Priorities list in September. The EPA says full remediation could take five years and cost $26 million. (11/16)
