South Lake Tahoe Takes Part in National Lead Poisoning Awareness Week

October 20-26 is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and the City of South Lake Tahoe is joining agencies across the country to help bring awareness to the public about the harms of lead.

This year’s theme is "Lead-Free Kids for a Healthy Future” which emphasizes the many ways parents can reduce a child’s exposure to lead and prevent its serious health effects.

The City of South Lake Tahoe has formed a Lead Safe Tahoe team who are diligently working to identify houses and apartments within the City of South Lake Tahoe that have lead-based paint hazards. Once identified and qualified, the team works with Lead Safe certified and licensed contractors to mitigate the risks and make dwellings safe for occupants.

“We are one of the smallest cities in the country to receive a Lead Hazard Control grant from HUD,” said Janine Green, Lead Safe Tahoe Program Coordinator. “The lead mitigation work we are doing is greatly improving the health and quality of living for residents and their children. It is truly an amazing program, and the best part is it costs nothing to participate for qualified residents.”

To date, Lead Safe Tahoe has funded the lead-based paint testing of 427 qualifying residential units. Approximately 40% of those have tested positive for lead in the paint exceeding the levels that are considered to be safe. Program funded lead hazard control work has been completed in 135 units, and 27 are currently in the bidding or construction phases. Grant funding has also provided training in lead-safe work practices for nearly 200 workers.

If your home was built before 1978, lead paint may still be on the walls, doors, windows and sills. The City of South Lake Tahoe’s Lead Safe Tahoe team is working to identify houses and apartments within city limits that have lead-based paint hazards. Learn more about the City’s free Lead Hazard program at www.CityofSLT.us/LeadSafeTahoe or call (530) 542-6011.