Maine’s fight against childhood lead poisoning lost valuable ground recently when the Maine State Housing Authority failed to obtain a $3 million federal grant to help make lead-contaminated homes safe.

The state estimates that one out of every nine Maine children has an elevated blood lead level because of exposure to lead paint.

The loss of funding from the federal office of Housing and Urban Development leaves the state without financial resources to offer to low-income homeowners whose children have been poisoned by lead or to landlords who want to make their units safer for low-income renters.

“The real problem is that there is no other funding,” said Roger Bondeson, who oversees MSHA’s lead abatement program. “It is very difficult to have an ongoing, consistent program relying on competitive grants.”

Bondeson said Thursday that his application to renew the federal award, which has provided the bulk of Maine’s abatement funding since 1998, was rejected without explanation. But he thinks nationwide competition for the HUD lead hazard fund is growing, as awareness increases of the permanent damage lead exposure can cause to young children’s developing neurological systems.

Paint manufacturers used to add lead to their products to make them more durable. Residential paints contained as much as 80 percent lead by weight until 1950, when health officials began to recommend decreasing the amount. The substance was banned outright from residential paints in 1978, but older homes and other structures remain contaminated. Maine’s housing stock is among the oldest in the nation, with an estimated 36 percent of existing housing built before 1950.

As painted surfaces deteriorate through friction and general use, chips and dust are dislodged. Ingested through the nose or mouth, lead paint in even small amounts is known to cause permanent learning disabilities and behavior disorders in young children. Developing fetuses are extremely vulnerable to lead poisoning through their mothers’ exposure. Adults exposed to high levels of lead are at risk for nerve damage. At very high levels, lead can cause mental retardation, coma and death.

Since 1998, MSHA has spent close to $5 million in HUD funding along with about $1.6 million in state money, to lessen the risk of lead paint contamination for young children. According to Bondeson, about 450 houses and apartments have been made safer in that time, by replacing battered windows and doors, sealing and carpeting over painted floors, and applying fresh paint over chipped and peeling surfaces. More extensive projects have required residing painted homes with vinyl clapboards and even replacing contaminated soil around foundations.

Between MSHA’s statewide program and municipal programs in Portland and Lewiston-Auburn, the lead paint hazard in approximately 1,000 homes and apartments has been minimized, Bondeson said – but that represents only about 1 percent of the Maine housing units that are contaminated.

In addition to low-income housing and apartments in poor condition, children in middle class households are often exposed when their families renovate historic homes. In coastal areas, it’s not uncommon for residences to be painted with marine paints, which still legally contain dangerous amounts of lead.

Bondeson said MSHA will “try to cobble together” whatever funds are available to continue providing assistance to low-income families, but “these aren’t great times to be looking for money,” he noted. MSHA will reapply for the federal HUD funding at the next opportunity, he said.

Mary Ann Americh, director of Maine’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Project, said Thursday that MSHA’s funding loss represents a serious setback. While the state is making progress through better screening rates and early detection in young children, she said, “we have lost the ability to eliminate the source of the exposure, the ability to get on top of the problem and really prevent lead poisoning.”

More information on the hazards of lead paint can be found online at www.mainepublichealth.gov.