Fresno County ramps up lead hazard repairs in older homes

Fresno County is targeting older homes in Southeast Fresno, Southwest Fresno and ZIP codes 93701, 93702 and 93706 because houses built before 1978 are the most likely to contain lead-based paint, contaminated dust and plumbing parts that can spread exposure to children. The county says the risk rises as housing gets older, which makes the age of the home and the neighborhood a practical map for where lead hazards are most likely to linger.

Supervisor Luis Chavez said the county’s goal is to upgrade 169 homes, but only 50 projects were underway. The work is backed by a $4 million federal Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant, and the federal grant summary says the money is intended to address lead hazards in 168 housing units for low- and very low-income families with children. The one-unit difference reflects a small counting gap between county messaging and the federal summary, but the scale is the same: Fresno County is trying to push repairs through before more children are exposed.

The county said qualifying residents can get lead hazards fixed at no cost, a crucial detail in a region where remediation can be expensive and out of reach for many families. Environmental Health also said it gives technical and financial assistance to property owners to reduce hazards from lead-based paint, lead-contaminated soil and dust. That matters for landlords and owners of older rental properties, because the county is not just warning about risk, it is financing the cleanup and tracking safer units through its Lead-Safe Housing Registry.

The danger is not always obvious. Lead poisoning can build quietly, which is why Fresno County’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program pairs home visitation, environmental home inspections and health education for families of severely lead-poisoned children with outreach during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in October and National Poison Prevention Week in March. The county has been working on the problem for years, and earlier local reporting identified Southeast Fresno and Southwest Fresno as high-risk areas because of older housing stock. Officials are betting that identifying the oldest homes now, and repairing them before another child is harmed, will keep an invisible hazard from becoming a lifelong one.