Mitchell Patterson/THE REVIEW
Gov. JIn a national first, Gov. John Carney signed a bill into law on Aug. 29 which banned the use of lead paint outdoors.
BY
City Editor
In the summer of 2016, Wilmington resident Sarah Bucic, a registered nurse, realized the potential danger of living 83 feet from a water tower when she discovered that, not only was the tower originally coated with a poisonous lead-based paint, but also that the use of lead paint outdoors was not regulated in Delaware.
On Aug. 29, after two years of public outreach, Bucic stood behind Governor John Carney as he passed a bill into law which made Delaware the first in the nation to ban the application of lead-based paints on outdoor structures in order to protect public health.
Lead-based paints were federally banned for indoor use in 1978. Although lead is a known neurotoxin, the outdoor use of lead paint was not regulated in Delaware, making it nearly impossible to track its usage. Bridges, roofs, water towers and other outdoor structures may have been painted with lead-based products, which risk deteriorating and flaking away.
The bill, titled HB-456, was supported by a broad coalition of public officials and interest groups. It received bipartisan support upon being introduced into the Delaware General Assembly on Aug. 12, where it was unanimously passed by both the State House of Representatives and the Senate.
Many present at the signing ceremony, including the governor, attributed the passage of HB-456 to the campaign spearheaded by Bucic and Amy W. Roe, a Newark resident. However, the pair do not intend to end their regulatory efforts following this success in Delaware. They look forward to pressing for a similar ban at the federal level.
“We want them to be aware of what has happened here, because a federal ban on lead paint would protect all states,” Roe said. “But first, we need other states to do this themselves because the federal government takes a while to get things done.”
Bucic and Roe’s campaign gained traction at the state level when they received the support of Andrew C. Slater, Delaware’s Public Advocate, in the spring. The role of the Public Advocate is to appear before courts, administrative and regulatory agencies on behalf of consumer interest regarding rates and practices of public utilities.
“It seemed like a no-brainer,” Slater said. “My first thought was ‘Really, we don’t already ban this stuff outside?’ The bill sailed through the legislature in about a week or two, which is really impressive.”
Carney credited the speedy passage of the bill to lawmakers’ willingness to work together to protect the public good.
“I knew a child a while back, before I was elected, when I worked in New Castle County,” Carney said after signing HB-456. “They had lead poisoning, and that can be so severe and cause developmental issues for a child. The broad support, the bipartisan support, the community working together, it just shows that the people of Delaware really care about their environment and each other. When we work together, Democrats and Republicans, we can protect the people whom we were elected to serve.”
Congratulations to DE on being first to ban the use of lead pain outdoors. Here in Montgomery County MD some of us are working to get rid of synthetic turf (synturf) fields. The CDC has listed synturf as one of the top seven sources of childhood lead exposure. http://www.SafeHealthyPlayingFields.org synturf.org ehhi.org
Not all companys have lead in their product.However a lot of the older fields do contain lead in their colorant. Trying to get rid of all synturf fields is like saying get rid of all paint because of lead in some paint. This said I am allfor testing for lead in my projects and working accordingly as directed by my lead safe work practices. And please work for testing old fields getting them replaced and ensuring new product is lead absent
What paints are produced with Lead, anymore? This sounds like grandstanding to me.
North Claymont, Delaware is being destroyed by Brett Saddler,CRDC and CDC, They are destroying our Wildlife,natural resources and not protecting our resident’s from the deteriorating environment.
Dee Whildin
North Claymont
Not only is NCCO allowing Brett Saddler to destroy North Claymont, Delaware, this being done to build $300,000, homes on the our coastline. The natural buffer created is being torn/cut down to sell these with a river view The Claymont Dust Study Team, succeeded in closing buffernaturalo down EVRAZ STEEL Co. Our Riverfront wildlife, environment improved, in fact it Flourished. We even had Bald Eagles/nests sighted. Now the trees are being cut down without regard for animals are scurrying out of there with no where to go. This area is bounded by Routes I-95, I-495 Philadelphia Pike and the Claymont Train Station. How many of our precious animals will be doomed? Why didn’t Brett Saddler work on utilizing using the north side of this Commercial Development Property (0ver 400+acres) Why would anybody want to invest in these waterfront homes situated an arm’s throw between Sunoco and LindeAir when the increasing noise from slow moving freight trains, run any from 10 pm to 7pm , Claymont has never had any air Monitors. We now have 2 air monitors in Woods-Haven Kruse Park, no where near where needed, placed August 3 for 30 days. We need border monitors. No Monitors are scheduled to be placed near these $300,000.00 homes. What happens when these monitors are removed and there is an event/emergency? I brought these issues up to Brett Saddler. He said that the proposed new residents would learn to live with it. WHO IS THIS BRETT SADDLER???? I guess that “CASH COWS with FORKED TONGUES” is the answer?
I am a builder and I don’t understand why it is so difficult to ban lead paint at the federal level. Everyone knows what harm lead can cause. Lead is a deadly neurotoxin, which has especially harmful effects on children because it impairs neural development, which may impact learning, delay growth and cause hearing loss. If lead-based paint was banned in 1978, then why should builders renew lead certificates every 5 years? I just know that every 5 years I will turn in https://www.ablesafety.com/course/4-hour-rrp-lead-safe-renovator-refresher to renew my certification.