Project Partner: Center for Governmental Research
Project Funder: Greater Rochester Health Foundation
Project Contact: Rebecca Morley, rmorley@nchh.org, 443.539.4159
Project Description: Rochester, NY is the first U.S. city to have a housing inspection law that incorporates both visual inspections and dust wipes for rental units located in areas at high risk for lead paint problems. The Center for Governmental Research (CGR ) conducted a 2-year study of the impact of the law from July 2006 - July 2008. CGR found nearly 3,440 housing units have been or will be made lead safe because of the law, but nearly a third of the units with interior lead hazards would have been missed without dust wipe testing. The odds that a child with an elevated blood lead level lived in rental housing in the city decreased sharply in the 2 years after the law went into effect. The cost of compliance by landlords was lower than expected.