Lead Paint Abatement Costs-Some Technical and Theoretical Considerations

Public and private concern about the potential for lead poisoning in children due to the ingestion of lead-based paint chips has resulted in a Federally sponsored program to develop technologies by which the lead-based paint hazard may be eliminated from the nation’s housing. The nature and design of the Experimental Hazard Elimination Program (EHEP) is thought to be unique in that it permitted the costs of the alternative lead paint abatement techniques to be rigorously analyzed. The focus of this report is on the design, implementation and analysis of EHEP and the cost information it produced. Statistical analyses which permitted the development of econometric models capable of estimating abatement technique costs and expected contractor markup are described. Structural equations relating changes in the values of certain key factors to variations in direct cost and contract or markup a real so presented. Guidelines, including a national deleading cost estimate, are given so that these econometric models can be used by municipal officials and building owners to estimate deleading costs as well as provide input to policy evaluation and formulation.