Philadelphia City Council Committee Passes Bills To Reduce Lead Exposure In Kids
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia City Council committee passed a package of bills on Wednesday designed to reduce lead exposure in children.
The bills would require that a building be certified lead safe before it could host a family day care center, that water quality would be tested before any building could be used for educational purposes and that landlords disclose whether water service lines in units are lead, in addition to the current law that they disclose lead paint.
City officials, including Rebecca Swanson of Licenses and Inspections, were supportive.
"The common sense measures will hold the owners of properties that are occupied by children, whether they be rental units, day care facilities or schools, more accountable to their obligation to insure that their properties are safe, healthy environments," Swanson told KYW Newsradio.
Property owners representative Darrell Zaslow says they'd be happy to address lead in their buildings, as long as it's not with their own money.
"If we can somehow use the resources that city government has," Zaslow said.
City officials testified the city has $2 million for lead abatement, down from $11 million, because of federal budget cuts.