Over 160 Worcester Homes Can Get Lead Removed With New HUD Grant

WORCESTER, MA — A $4.1 million grant sent to Worcester by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will make way for lead paint removal in over 100 properties across the city.

This week's lead paint removal grant is the largest Worcester has ever received, city officials said. Like many New England cities, Worcester's multifamily housing stock is dominated by triple-decker homes built decades before lead paint was outlawed in 1978.

About 77 percent — more than 61,000 units — of Worcester's housing stock was built before 1978. Landlords are not required to remove lead paint, and so it remains in many homes either buried below other layers of paint or sometimes exposed and peeling.

The new HUD grant will pay to abate lead in about 165 homes total. A city spokesperson said property owners will be able to apply for funding at a future date. The UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center, the Southeast Asian Coalition, Worcester Housing Authority, CENTRO and Worcester Head Start will help the city identify abatement candidates.

"This funding, combined with other local, state, and federal resources, will strengthen the foundation of existing efforts and lead to a sustainable, community-wide effort to combat the effects of childhood lead poisoning and home health conditions and help provide the city’s children a safe place to call home," Worcester Director of Housing Development and Healthy Homes James Brooks said in a news release.

Lead can accumulate in the body over time, and is especially dangerous for children under 6 as they develop. Lead can cause mental and physical defects, and in some cases can lead to death in high amounts.

Lead paint along with lead pipes, lead residue in the soil and leaded gasoline — still the standard fuel used by small, recreational aircraft — are main drivers of lead toxicity in the U.S.

The new HUD grant this comes on top of close to $20 million lead abatement grants the city has received since 2007. Worcester has also set aside $1 million in ARPA funds for lead abatement, providing up to $15,000 per housing unit. The ARPA lead abatement fund still had over $980,000 left to spend as of this week, according to the city's dashboard.