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EPA Lead Program
Grant Fact Sheet
Outreach to Vulnerable Populations
in Florida
St. Petersburg, FL
EPA has selected the Health Council of West
Central Florida in St. Petersburg, FL for a
Targeted Lead Grant.
The Council plans to use the grant money to
reach different groups in the community through
education and outreach.
The three county target area with mixed rural
and suburban areas contains several varied risk
factors for lead poisoning. There are 43,993
children aged six or under, and 10,088 are
living in poverty. Twenty seven percent of the
total housing stock was built before 1978 and,
of those homes, 27% were built before 1950.
Approximately 17% of the population is foreign
born. Three major hurricanes in the last three
years have left many older homes in the
community needing renovation and repair.
The educational and outreach project will:
•	Establish a community partnership to
assess local resources and target outreach
to specific segments of the community,
•	Develop press releases, feature stories and paid advertisements, through local radio and
newspapers, highlighting resources available for increased lead screening and avoiding lead
hazards, and
•	Provide two training sessions to physicians on lead awareness and testing and two training
sessions to construction and maintenance workers on lead safe work practices.
EPA's Targeted Lead Grants
EPA's Targeted Lead Grant Program funds
projects in areas with high incidences of
children with elevated blood-lead levels in
vulnerable populations. In 2007 the Agency
awarded more than $5.2 Million in grants
under this ambitious program. These
targeted grants are intended to address
immediate needs of the communities in
which they are awarded, and will also
highlight lead poison prevention strategies
that can be used in similar communities
across the country.
EPA's lead program is playing a major role
in meeting the federal goal of eliminating
childhood lead poisoning as a major public
health concern by 2010, and the projects
supported by these grant funds are an
important part of this ongoing effort.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control in 1978 there were 13.5 million
children in the US with elevated blood lead
levels. By 2002, that number had dropped
to 310,000.
For more information about EPA's Lead
Program, visit www.epa.gov/lead or call
the National Lead Information Center at
1-800-424-LEAD.
2007 Targeted Lead Grant Program
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
www.epa.gov/lead

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