Cleveland Lead Safety Coalition Is Looking for Contractors in Fight to Remediate Scourge

Lead harms major organs and development, especially in children. Credit: Abby Lanes / flickrcc

The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, a public-private partnership dedicated to fighting lead poisoning in the city, has released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for more than five lead safety positions to contract to individuals or businesses.

“The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition is committed to no child ever being poisoned by lead. We are looking for a diverse pool of lead safe workers with integrity, knowledge of the damaging impacts of lead in the body, and a commitment to creating lead safe spaces for Cleveland families,” said Coalition Vice President and steering committee member Ayonna Blue Donald.

Lead is extremely toxic, affecting the brain, heart, kidneys, nervous system and bones. For children in particular, exposure to lead can slow and stunt development. No amount of lead exposure is safe, according to organizations like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Ohio was one of 27 states that earned an “F” rating in the latest “Get the Lead Out” report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Environment America Research and Policy Center, which grades every state and the District of Columbia on handling of lead in schools. Based on a rubric evaluating lead limit in water, public disclosure and applicability of requirements and solutions, Ohio scored just 21 out of 200 points.

Lead has also been a problem in Cleveland housing. The city passed legislation to require rental property owners to certify their units are safe from lead, but currently less than 10 percent of rental homes meet that requirement today. Cleveland is only receiving about 1,000 certification applications quarterly, less than half of the roughly 2,500 it should, according to Lead Safe auditor Robert Fischer.

Contracted roles include:

Lead risk assessor, who will be responsible for developing a written inspection, risk assessment and analysis plan; conducting inspections for lead hazards in a home, child care facility or school; interpreting results of inspections and assessments; identifying hazard control strategies; and completing an assessment report.
Lead inspector, who will be responsible for performing a surface-by-surface investigation determining the presence of lead-based paint and providing a report explaining investigation results. Lead abatement contractor who will be responsible for engaging in lead abatement and employing or supervising one or more lead abatement workers.
Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certified individual who will be responsible for safely performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes and other properties RRP certified contractor who will be responsible for safely performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, childcare facilities and pre-schools built pre-1978.
Lead clearance technician who will be responsible for performing clearance examinations on non-abatement lead projects only.
Other lead safety related workers.

“We are thrilled to release this RFQ, in partnership with the Lead Safe Home Fund Administrators, to identify qualified lead professionals,” Donald said. “We all have a role to play in this fight to prevent childhood lead poisoning. Join us as we build a stronger, lead safe Cleveland.”

The RFQ is available at the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition website and applications are open until August 29, 2023, at 5:00 pm.

The Coalition will also host a virtual pre-submission conference for parties interested in learning more about the RFQ. Registration and additional information can be found via the Coalition’s email.

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