One-hundred-and-eighteen older homes in the Naugatuck Valley that have been found to have hazardous levels of lead in them will be receiving $2.9 million in federal funding to get that lead out.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal came to the Naugatuck Valley Health District in Seymour on Thursday morning to, in his words, “celebrate this significant grant” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Blumenthal was joined by Karen Spargo, director of the Naugatuck Valley Health District, and other politicians, health district workers and others at a press conference.
“Lead poisoning can cause devastating and irreversible damage, especially to our nation’s children,” Blumenthal said. “By addressing lead hazards head-on, this critical federal grant will help ensure that Naugatuck Valley children and their families are growing, playing, and learning in safe, lead-free homes.”
The Naugatuck Valley Health District serves as the local public health entity for the towns of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Seymour and Shelton.
The money will be available immediately, said Blumenthal. The 118 houses that will be receiving remediation work were chosen by a ranking system the Naugatuck Valley Health District used, selecting houses with the most dangerous levels of lead.
Blumenthal pointed out that most of the older houses that will be receiving the grant money work were built – and painted with lead paint — before the danger of lead poisoning was known.
“It is an invisible poison that can kill, but can also maim people’s learning abilities for a lifetime,” Blumenthal said.
Spargo said that previous federal grants have allowed the Health District to do remediation work on 400 other homes in the Valley.
This new funding, she said, is badly needed, “because our testing shows that the (lead testing) numbers are going up.”
Naugatuck Valley Health District Health Director Alicia Hanke emphasized to those in attendance the importance that families’ primary care physician continually test children for lead paint levels.
“It is something we constantly stress, the importance of lead level testing in young children,” said Hanke.
Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto, one of those at the press conference, thanked Blumenthal for helping secure the multi-million dollar grant for Valley homes.
“You are hearing and helping us,” said Dugatto. “Thank you.”
