LEAD DUST 
PROJECT OVERVIEW 
T his chapter discusses the process followed by Syracuse to start and manage a lead dust 
mitigation program. 
• Section 3.1 presents a summary of the program development steps involved in planning and 
launching Syracuse s Lead Dust Project. It also outlines the roles and responsibilities of pro¬ 
gram partners and staff. 
• Section 3.2 reviews the steps Syracuse took in implementing its Lead Dust Project. 
• Sections 3.3 and 3.4 discusses selecting program partners, provides an overview of the role of 
community-based organizations (CBOs), and discusses how to better understand the target 
community. These topics are covered in greater detail in Chapter 4. 
Outreach, sampling and analysis, mitigation, reporting, and evaluation are discussed briefly in 
this chapter and are covered in more detail in Chapters 4 through 9. 
3.1 Steps in the Development of Syracuse’s Lead 
Dust Project 
The EPA (EMPACT)-funded Syracuse Lead Dust Project works with both homeowners and 
tenants particularly those with small children and provides free and immediate lead dust 
mitigation to significantly reduce lead dust levels where small children live and play. Although 
the program does not eliminate the source of the lead hazard (i.e., deteriorated lead-based 
paint), it treats the problem in part by providing personalized instruction of proper cleaning 
techniques. The program also educates parents and child care providers to teach children about 
the importance of hand washing and keeping their hands out of their mouths. 
The target population for the Syracuse Lead Dust Project are households with small children 
living in the city s revitalization areas. Syracuse knew from the start that essentially all of the 
inner city rental housing stock had lead dust problems. To inform tenants about the lead haz¬ 
ards and to gain their trust and participation, Syracuse partnered with seven CBOs. The rela¬ 
tionship built by the lead dust project with these organizations has been key to the project s 
development and success. 
The following briefly explains Syracuse s major programmatic benchmarks in the development 
of its lead dust project: 
Step 1: Project Planning 
First Syracuse developed a project plan with clearly defined goals and objectives, project scope, 
schedule, and identification of possible funding sources. Since Syracuse decided to use XRF 
technology, which is not an EPA-approved method for lead dust analysis, confirmatory labora¬ 
tory analysis was considered necessary to demonstrate the reliability of the technology. To 
accomplish this, the project was designed in two phases. In Phase I the XRF findings were veri¬ 
fied against laboratory analysis. During Phase II the project was implemented based on the 
results of this analysis. 
Lead Dust Project Overview 
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