Ordinarily, the federal government ought to be discouraged from adding to the mountains of red tape that tend to make Americans' lives more costly and complicated.
But a round of applause is appropriate in response to some new regulations issued this week by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development even though landlords and home sellers may find the rules a bit stressful.Actually, it's Congress that deserves the applause since the new rules were mandated by a 1994 law governing the disclosure of lead paint in real estate deals.
The new rules - endorsed by the National Association of Realtors and a national association of parents whose children have suffered from lead poisoning - take effect on Sept. 6 for landlords or sellers with four or more houses or apartments, and on Dec. 6 for everyone else.
Basically, the new rules require sellers and landlords to tell buyers and renters what they know about a particular property, including the results of any lead tests in their possession. Landlords and sellers must also provide a pamphlet developed by HUD and the EPA.
It could have been worse. The rules stop short of ordering the removal of lead paint. Nor do they force sellers or landlords to obtain information about the lead content of old layers of paint, or certify that they are lead-free, before the units can change hands.
But the regulations do guarantee buyers a 10-day period to test the house for lead. A technician can test for lead by using an electronic device called an X-ray fluorescence gun. Or paint chips can be sent to a laboratory. Depending on the paint's condition, the remedy can be to remove it, to cover it, or leave it as is.
Buyers and renters would be well advised to take full advantage of the new regulations. Although lead was banned from paint in 1978, nearly two-thirds of the housing units in this country were built before then. Three-quarters of those residences may still be infected with the toxic material, which can cause severe brain disorders and developmental problems when young children get lead in their bloodstreams.
This lead poisoning can come from drinking water carried in lead pipes and from various products containing lead in some form. But the most widespread source of contamination is the lead in paint. Children sometimes eat paint chips or dirt containing lead paint particles.
An estimated 3 million to 4 million American children absorb enough lead before they are 6 years old to cause irreversible brain damage and serious injury to the nervous system. Young children with even moderate lead poisoning are seven times more likely to drop out of school and six times more likely to suffer reading disabilities. Such youngsters also are more likely to become addicted to drugs.
Whatever it may cost to implement the new federal rules, the price of not doing anything would be even steeper in terms of the wasted lives and the tax dollars spent to deal with the tragic consequences of lead poisoning.
As we said, some red tape is to be applauded.