New Haven Property
Owner Fined for Failure to Notify Tenants of Risks from Exposure to Lead
Paint
For Immediate Release: October 7, 2004
Contact: David Deegan, 617-918-1017; Release # 04-10-07
BOSTON – The owner of several hundred residential apartment
units situated in nine buildings in New Haven, CT, and the company
that manages the buildings, has been issued a complaint by EPA
and is ordered to pay a $115,940 penalty for failing to properly
notify renters of risks from exposure to lead paint. The 219 apartment
units are owned by Ardelle Cowie and managed by Chelsea Company,
which is owned by Cowie.
EPA’s complaint, filed on Sept. 30, stems from a July 2003
inspection of Chelsea Company. During the inspection, EPA learned
that neither the building owner nor the management company were
consistently complying with federal law regarding notification
of tenants about the hazards posed to human health, especially
to children, resulting from exposure to lead.
Inspectors also learned that four children who once lived in the
buildings had been found to have elevated blood-lead levels, although
it is unknown whether the children had these elevated blood-lead
levels before they moved into Cowie’s buildings. When the
New Haven Department of Health was notified of these elevated blood-levels,
it conducted lead inspections at units where these children had
lived, found lead hazards, and issued abatement orders. As a result,
the owner either addressed lead issues or kept the units vacant.
"Lead poisoning is a serious health threat for children in
New England, because a large amount of housing is older and can
contain lead paint," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator
for EPA's New England office. "It is critically important
that renters and buyers, especially with young children, get the
information they need to protect themselves and their children
from potential exposure to lead paint."
Low-level lead poisoning continues to be widespread among American
children. Children are especially susceptible to lead poisoning,
both because of a higher probability of ingestion of lead paint
particles (including lead contaminated dust) and because of a higher
degree of vulnerability due to children’s young developing
bodies. Elevated lead levels can trigger learning disabilities,
decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing and even brain
damage. Pregnant women are also susceptible because lead exposure
before or during pregnancy can alter fetal development and cause
miscarriages.
Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of children under six years
of age have elevated blood lead levels. In 2002, more than 400
validated lead poisonings were documented in New Haven for children
between one and six years of age. This is the highest level of
validated elevated blood levels in Connecticut.
Homes built before 1978, when lead in paint was banned, are more
likely to contain lead paint. Because so much of New England’s
housing stock is older, childhood lead exposure continues to be
a big concern in the Northeast. The problem is particularly acute
for urban, minority children of low-income families who live in
older housing. In New Haven, well over half of the available housing
was constructed before 1978, and almost one-quarter of residents
are below the federal poverty line.
This case is among more than a dozen lead-related civil and criminal
cases EPA New England has taken since 2002 to make sure property
owners are complying with federal laws that require them to notify
tenants and prospective buyers of potential lead-paint hazards
in their buildings. The initiative has included more than 200 inspections
around New England as well as compliance assistance workshops.
Federal law requires that sellers and landlords selling or renting
housing built before 1978 must: provide an EPA-approved lead hazard
information pamphlet; include lead notification language in sales
and rental forms; disclose any known lead-based paint and lead-based
paint hazards in the living unit and provide available reports
to buyers or renters; allow a lead inspection or risk assessment
by home buyers; and maintain records certifying compliance with
federal laws for a period of three years. Sellers, lessors, and
real estate agents all share responsibility for such compliance.
Cowie cooperated with the EPA inspectors, and settlement negotiations
to resolve this matter have already begun. Tenants of Chelsea Co.
who qualified for Section 8 assistance do appear to have been notified
of lead hazards, because they received a standard lease from the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
For more information on lead paint disclosure requirements and
other issues regarding lead, visit the agency's web site at http://www.epa.gov/ne/topics/pollutants/lead.html .
METADATA
-
TITLE: New Haven Property
Owner Fined for Failure to Notify Tenants of Risks from Exposure
to Lead Paint
-
ABSTRACT: BOSTON – The
owner of several hundred residential apartment units situated
in nine buildings in New Haven, CT, and the company that
manages the buildings, has been issued a complaint by EPA
and is ordered to pay a $115,940 penalty for failing to properly
notify renters of risks from exposure to lead paint. The
219 apartment units are owned by Ardelle Cowie and managed
by Chelsea Company, which is owned by Cowie.
-
PURPOSE: Public Information
-
ORIGINATOR: Regional Administrator's
Office
-
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/7/04
-
ACCESS CONSTRAINTS: N/A
-
AVAILABILITY: N/A
a. Distributor:
b. Order Process:
c. Technical Prerequisites:
d. Automated Linkage:
e. Downloadable Files:
-
COVERAGE: N/A
-
TIME PERIOD OF COVERAGE: N/A
-
POINT OF CONTACT FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION:
David Deegan
Office of the Regional Administrator
EPA New England
1 Congress Street, Suite 1100 (RAA)
Boston, MA 02114-2023
(617) 918-1017
-
RESPONSIBLE PARTY:
David Deegan, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1017
Office of the Regional Administrator
-
DATE OF CREATION: 10/7/04
-
AGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
N/A
-
EXPIRATION DATE: 11/07/04
|
|
|