Efficacy of the Community Reinvestment Act in promoting lead abatement.

The efficacy of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in assisting homeowners or landlords in urban areas of New Jersey to finance lead abatement was evaluated in the study reported here, as was the effectiveness of the abatement. The study involved working with homeowners, banks, local health departments, and communities to facilitate financing for lead abatement, and collecting environmental-dust specimens from some of the participants' homes before and after abatement. Of the 113 interested subjects, 59 (52 percent) completed abatement of their homes. Of the 58 who applied for CRA loans, 21 received approvals and had the work completed. Thirty-nine of the homeowners found alternate means of financing abatement. The environmental data showed a significant decrease on the windowsills in the 4aated homes, but not on the floors. In conclusion, one-on-one counseling of homeowners about funding was associated with more than 50 percent success in completing abatement, The CRA loans' accounted for about one-third of the abated units. The lead abatement was effective in removing lead paint from the windows, but not in reducing dust lead levels on the floors.