Lead poisoning is also a concrete health status marker of the affordable housing crisis. A Threat to Public Health Lead is a naturally occurring element that is highly toxic to almost all human organs and systems when ingested or inhaled. Lead affects both children and adults, although children under age six and fetuses are most sensitive. In children, low-level lead poisoning affects the developing brain and nervous system, causing reductions in IQ and attention span, reading and other learning disabilities, hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, hearing loss, and coordination problems. While lead poisoning crosses all barriers of race, income, and geography, most of the burden of this disease falls on the poor who live in older, poorer quality housing.
Lead poisoning poses a challenge to the health system as well as to housing.
A concerted effort is now underway to improve Medicaid screening and follow-up care. In 1992, Congress recognized that lead-based paint hazards threaten affordable housing as well as children's health. Landmark legislation, Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, redirected the national approach from reacting to poisoned children to prevention. Over the past 20 years, a patchwork of regulations related to lead-based paint evolved across HUD's housing assistance, community development, and loan guarantee programs. For the most part, these regulations were illogical, ineffective, and out of synch with current knowledge.