Allegheny County will receive a $7.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to address lead-based paint hazards, the Allegheny County Economic Development agency announced Thursday.
The funding will be awarded to the Allegheny County Lead Safe Homes program to remediate 175 homes with lead-based paint. The grant will also fund 180 lead inspections, as well as education and outreach to 4,000 low-income families with young children.
"We know there is truly no safe amount of lead for children to be exposed to," said Allegheny County Executive Sarah Innamorato. "Older homes are a major source of lead for our community."
The federal government banned the use of lead-based paint in 1978, but most Allegheny County homes were built before the ban. Lead-based paint can be ingested in the form of flaking paint chips or dust when the paint is not in good condition.
In 2021, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention lowered its blood lead level threshold from 5 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.
In 2022, there were 624 children in Allegheny County under the age of 6 whose blood lead level tested above the CDC threshold.
