Feature

Survey of Finding by Harding & Company

by Joe Walseth and Harriet Lem

The Childhood Lead Prevention Program has developed and implemented a number of education programs and outreach efforts. These are designed to assist parents and other local residents, property owners, and construction industry workers to identify, work with, and eliminate lead hazards so that the incidence of lead poisoning among children is minimized.

This year, a study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Childhood Lead Prevention Program’s work and to identify areas where the program may need to increase its efforts or ways in which it might better meet company needs. The major focus of the evaluation was to gauge the knowledge of parents and other local residents, property owners/managers and people who work in the construction field in regards to identifying potential sources of lead poisoning and how lead poisoning affects children. In addition, the evaluation also assessed what preventive actions these community members have undertaken.

A series of surveys and interviews was administered during the summer of 1999. The staff at the Childhood Lead Prevention Program worked closely with Harder & Company Community Research who provided technical assistance on the development of the surveys, and conducted the interviews.

The survey of 597 residents from seven zip codes regarding community knowledge of lead hazards and poisoning resulted in the following issues:

89.4% of all respondents reported having heard of lead poisoning.
91.9% of parents reported having heard of lead poisoning
Respondents were asked to rate lead poisoning of children on a scale of 1-5 (5 being a very serious problem). 48.8% of parents responded with 4 or 5.
Only 45.2% of parents reported that their children had been given a blood lead test.
61% of parents reported taking precautions to prevent lead poisoning in their homes.
When asked “how can lead poisoning affect children?” 22.8% respondents reported they did not know.
The survey results of 414 tenants in zip codes regarding lead hazards: identified as highest risk poisoning for children, the following issues:>
72.2% of all respondents reported that they did not receive the tenant notice on lead hazards from their landlord, as required by federal and San Francisco law.
84.3% of all respondents indicated that the city should require landlords to fix lead hazards.

Survey results of property owners/managers and representatives of property management companies:

Twenty nine individuals who reported owning or managing a rental property in San Francisco and 30 representatives of property management companies were surveyed regarding their understanding of property owners/managers responsibilities regarding potential lead hazards in rental property. (Note: that the following responses cannot be generalized to all owners/managers due to the small number of people sampled.)

75% of management company representatives reported giving tenants the EnvironmentalProtectionAgency brochure.Itisalegalrequirementthat landlords provide this information.
Of those who did not provide this, 85.7% reported that they did not know this was a legal requirement.
44.4% of owners/managers reported giving tenants the EPA brochure.
Of those who did not, 73.3% reported that they did not know this was a legal requirement.

Survey results of contractors:

Thirty contractors were surveyed regarding their level of awareness of required lead-safe work practices as required by San Francisco law. (Note: that the following responses cannot be generalized to all owners/managers due to the small number of people sampled.)

Only 10% reported being lead certified contractors.

Only 41.4% of contractors reported attending a class specifically on lead in construction. Of those reported attending a class, only 41.7% reported attending annual refresher courses.
70% of contractors reported awareness of the S.F. exterior lead-safe work practices law (building code).
Of those reported knowing of the law, 55% reported having no difficulty in complying with it.
Only 10.3% of contractors reported awareness of EPA notification requirement related to renovations.

Resource List

The following materials are available by calling 415.554.8930:

Stop Lead Poisoning: It’s Possible (available in Cambodian, Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese).
Work Practices for Exterior Lead-Based Paint.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Joe Walseth and Harriet Lem work for the Department of Public Health, Childhood Lead Prevention Program. They can be reached at 415-554-8930.