Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has filed a 2,600-count complaint against Hyde Park Realty Company Inc. for alleged violations of Federal regulations on lead-based paint and its hazards. EPA also notified owners of 25 buildings managed by Hyde Park Realty, at the time of the discovery, of potential violations.
EPA and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigations beginning in December 1998 revealed that Hyde Park Realty failed to comply with requirements of the lead disclosure rule in 520 apartments in more than 40 rental buildings it managed.
On March 6, 1996, EPA and HUD issued new rules to protect families, especially those with children, from hazards of lead-based paint in the home. Real estate companies and property owners must provide buyers and renters with information on lead-based paint including a lead warning statement and a lead pamphlet. They must also disclose if lead-based paint is known to be present before a sale is closed or a rental agreement is signed. This applies to residences built before 1978, the year the sale of residential lead-based paint was banned.
According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, more than 20,000 children under the age of six were diagnosed with lead poisoning in 1998.
Deteriorated lead paint is the most common source of lead exposure to children in the United States. About 75 percent of the nation’s housing built before 1978 contains lead-based paint. When properly managed, lead-based paint poses little risk. If not maintained, though, even low levels of lead exposure can threaten the health of housing occupants, especially children and pregnant women. Adverse impacts include learning disabilities, growth impairment and permanent damage to the brain, nervous system, hearing, vision and kidneys.
Based on materials received by FMLink from environ.com
