Introduction
Peeling lead paint is the most common cause of lead poisoning in young children. Lead dust from peeling paint can land on windowsills, floors, and toys. When children play on the floor and put their hands and toys in their mouths, they can swallow lead dust. Exposure to lead is known to have several harmful effects on children including developmental impairment, learning disorders, and problems with hearing and speech. To protect children from lead paint poisoning, NYC Local Law 1 of 2004 requires landlords to use firms certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when disturbing more than 100 square feet of lead paint, replacing windows, or fixing violations issued by the HPD. It is presumed that these hazards exist in tenant-occupied buildings of three or more units built before January 1st, 1960 where a child under the age of six resides. In February of 2021, this law was expanded to also apply to one and two unit buildings. In another push to address this issue, Local Law 31 of 2020 requires all buildings built prior to 1960 to undergo an inspection by an EPA certified inspector no later than August 9th, 2025. While the city has made progress in addressing lead paint hazards, there is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has inhibited inspectors’ abilities to quickly identify violations.
Problem Statement
Through our discussions with our project sponsors, we have identified these key problems that we will be aiming to solve through a combination of data analysis and predictive modeling:
- Where are children being exposed to hazardous levels of lead paint;
- Which individual landlords are responsible for the highest rate of lead based paint violations;
- What effect, if any, has COVID-19 had on violation and complaint response and remediation times.