HUD grants total $114 million for lead, household hazard cleanup

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide about $114 million in new grants for lead cleanup and other household hazards, according to an agency release. Much of the grant funds will go toward eliminating lead-based paint from low-income homes, particularly those with young children. About $66.3 million will be available through HUD’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program, while funds offered through the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Program will total $45 million. Another $2.5 million will go to HUD’s research-oriented Healthy Homes Technical Studies Program. “These grants will keep HUD at the forefront of the federal effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning as a public health hazard,” said Jon Gant, director of the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. Grants are available for states, local governments as well as private groups. Click here to go to application website. The agency said funding will not be available in 2012 for two other related programs. The Healthy Homes Production Program assesses low-income housing for any health hazards, and the Asthma Interventions in Public and Assisted Multifamily Housing Program cleans out mold and other asthma-inducing agents in multifamily housing. HUD’s budget for 2012 is $3.8 billion, or more than 9% lower than in 2011. Write to Andrew Scoggin. Follow him on Twitter @ascoggin.