R.I. Wants $2.4B For Lead Paint Clean-Up

Three former lead paint manufacturers who lost a landmark lawsuit in Rhode Island would have to pay an estimated $2.4 billion to clean up hundreds of thousands of homes contaminated with lead under a proposal by the state.

The cleanup plan provides the most detailed road map to date for the mammoth undertaking of ridding Rhode Island homes of lead paint contamination. It would involve 10,000 workers and is projected to take four years. The state expected to file its plan in Superior Court Friday, said a spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

Rhode Island's lawsuit claimed the industry created a public nuisance, with tens of thousands of children being poisoned by lead since the early 1990s. It was the first state to sue, and its victory last year was the first time anyone had successfully sued former lead paint manufacturers.

The plan is subject to approval by a court, which could order less sweeping measures. The companies — Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries Inc. and Millennium Holdings — are also appealing the February 2006 jury verdict.