Last month, the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) updated
105 CMR 460.000 Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control. This regulation governs the statewide program for the prevention and control of childhood lead poisoning. The updated regulations are effective December 1 2017.
The new regulations lower the definition of lead poising from a blood test result of 25 ug/dl or greater to 10 ug/dl. They also lower the level considered dangerous to a child’s immediate health from between 15-24 ug/dl to 5-0 ug/dl. In addition changes were made to the lead abatement standards that would make Massachusetts more consistent with federal standards, which included making assessable surfaces intact. According to DPH the proposed changes would reduce costs by approximately one-third as an incentive for preventative deleading.
The updated regulations were based in part on the recommendations of the
Governor’s Advisory Committee for the Childhood Lead Poising Prevention Program which examined the scientific basis for updating the code. The regulations had not been fully reviewed and updated since 2000.
In Massachusetts when a child is identified as poisoned there is mandatory code enforcement of the law including inspections and deleading, clinical case management services for the child and the property owner is liable for damages if the property in not in compliance.
DPH Memo, September 13, 2017