During last week’s regular council meeting, Pittsburgh City Council voted on final passage of an ordinance aimed at reducing lead exposure and poisoning in the city.

The legislation includes the following measures:

• Adding professional lead assessments to routine inspections of rental units built before 1978. If lead is found, it must be remedied and the property reinspected. This aligns with standards in other cities, such as Rochester, New York.
• Creating a registry of child care facilities with mandatory inspections for lead.
• Requiring city-licensed general contractors to obtain Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certification. The Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections (PLI) will provide educational materials to permit applicants, who must certify they will perform the work in a lead-safe manner.
• Ensuring the City of Pittsburgh completes demolitions and renovations of city-owned or city-funded buildings using lead-safe practices.
• Installing filters on sinks and fountains in city buildings.

“One child with elevated lead levels in their body is one too many. The passage of this important bill, the Pittsburgh Lead Safety Law, moves us closer to protecting all of Pittsburgh’s children and residents from lead poisoning,” said Councilperson Erika Strassburger.

“Our houses and built environment are key factors in our health, and we have a responsibility to protect their occupants from harm,” said Councilman Corey O’Connor. “This legislation is a step forward in securing the public and environmental health and safety of our residents while we continue to confront Pittsburgh’s legacy lead issues.”

“I have been impressed by the leadership of my colleagues on council and the Get the Lead Out, Pittsburgh campaign. This bill is absolutely instrumental in helping to fight childhood lead poisoning,” said Councilman Bobby Wilson. “Pittsburgh has over 50,000 rental units built before 1978. This bill will help us ensure that the children living in these units are protected from the long-term health effects of lead exposure. I hope this also brings awareness to parents that it is so important to be proactive and check your home for lead before beginning simple repairs. Chipping paint from old windows, doors, and architectural details—and even contaminated soil—are leading causes of lead poisoning in children.”

From 2015 through 2019, 849 children in the City of Pittsburgh were confirmed to have lead poisoning. In 2020, during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, City Council committed to addressing legacy lead issues. Councilmembers Deb Gross, Corey O’Connor, Erika Strassburger, and Bobby Wilson worked with advocates from the Get the Lead Out Coalition for nearly two years to draft and pass this legislation.

“We are deeply grateful for Pittsburgh City Council’s work to begin addressing the legacy lead poisoning problem in our city,” said Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, executive director of Women for a Healthy Environment and supporter of the Get the Lead Out, Pittsburgh campaign. “We realize this is just the beginning, so we look forward to working with the city to implement the Pittsburgh Lead Safety Law and develop accompanying regulations to strengthen it—until we’ve eliminated all the ways our children are exposed to lead, from their rental homes to the places where they learn and play.”