NATIONAL CITY – As the second-oldest city in San Diego County, National City has homes that have a good chance of containing lead-based paint, a substance that can prove highly damaging if ingested.

Through a new program, local agencies are hoping to root it out over the next two years.

Before 1978, lead-based paint was commonly used indoors and outdoors. In one area of National City, 86 percent of the homes were built before 1978, putting their residents at risk for poisoning from the dust created when paint peels and chips.

It is that area – between Interstate 5 and Interstate 805 and south from Division and Delta streets to 18th Street – that National City is targeting with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

National City's Building and Safety Department, the Environmental Health Coalition and the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee are using the almost $3 million grant to fund inspection, lead control, cleanup and repainting for up to 540 homes by October 2006. The city has identified 40 homes to tackle first.

"Lead is so dangerous because you don't see what it does," said Veronica Serrano, program coordinator for the city's Lead Hazard Control Program.

Serrano said lead is particularly dangerous for children under 6 years old because it can cause developmental and learning disabilities when ingested or inhaled. Children are more susceptible, she said, because they play on the floor where lead-contaminated dust lies and put their unwashed hands in their mouths. There are 2,533 children under age 6 that live in the target area.

"In National City what we want to do is prevent the problem," Serrano said. "We have the resources now with this grant."

The Environmental Health Coalition is going door to door to alert residents to the dangers of lead-based paint. Residents interested in a free inspection and risk assessment may then qualify, based on their income and household size, for refurbishment work, which may be as simple as painting over the lead-based paint to seal it in. Parents can also get their children's blood tested for elevated levels of lead.

"Our focus is on low-income residents," said Leticia Ayala, director of the Coalition's Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning. "We can actually walk them through the entire application process."

To qualify for full services – an inspection, risk assessment and cleanup, or "lead-hazard control" – there must be children under 6 living in a low-income home. The city is also interested in servicing rental properties that have no children living there now, but may in the future with new tenants. Properties that are cleared or given clearance after being cleaned up will be put on the countywide lead-safe registry, Serrano said.

Bertha Juarez qualified because she takes care of her two grandchildren, ages 6 and 3. Her house on Harding Avenue tested positive for lead this year, particularly on high-friction areas where paint is likely to chip, such as windowsills. A month later, her walls were scraped, repainted and deemed safe.

"They did a wonderful job," she said. "I couldn't thank them enough."

The MAAC Project, a community services organization that performs the work on homes, has completed seven units, some of which are multifamily residences, said Matthew Medina, lead hazard control supervisor for the MAAC Project in National City. It can take anywhere from three days to three weeks to complete the work.

"We've found some pretty bad conditions," he said. "Most homes were built in the 1950s. This paint's been there for quite a long time."

Medina said he thinks the team will be able to service 110 homes by the time the grant expires in fall 2006. In the past couple of weeks, Serrano has presented the city's program at neighborhood council meetings.

Those interested in a free inspection can call (619) 336-4564.

Elizabeth White is a Union-Tribune intern
(619) 498-6655
elizabeth.white@uniontrib.com

Copyright 2004 Union-Tribune Publishing Company. Used by Permission