Abatement demonstration program

(A) Abatement demonstration program In carrying out the requirements of this subsection with respect to single-family and multifamily properties owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and public housing, the Secretary shall utilize a sufficient variety of abatement methods in a sufficient number of areas and circumstances to demonstrate their relative cost-effectiveness and their applicability to various types of housing. For purposes of the demonstration, a public housing agency may elect to test for lead-based paint using atomic absorption spectroscopy and may elect to abate lead-based paint and dust containing lead under standards more stringent than that in subsection (c), including the abatement of lead-based paint and dust which exceeds the standard of lead permitted in paints by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under this chapter, and such abatement shall qualify for assistance under section 1437 l 1 1 See References in Text note below. of this title.

(B) Report Not later than 18 months after the effective date of the regulations issued to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress the findings and recommendations of the Secretary as a result of the demonstration program, including any recommendations of the Secretary for legislation to revise the requirements of this subsection. Based on the demonstration, the Secretary shall prepare and include in the report a comprehensive and workable plan for the cost-effective inspection and abatement of public housing in accordance with paragraph (3), including an estimate of the total cost of abatement in accordance with paragraph (3)(B). In preparing such report, the Secretary shall examine— (i) the most reliable technology available for detecting lead-based paint, including X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption spectroscopy; (ii) the most efficient and cost-effective methods for abatement, including removal, containment, or encapsulation of the contaminated components, procedures which minimize the generation of dust (including the high efficiency vacuum removal of leaded dust), and procedures that provide for offsite disposal of the removed components, in compliance with all applicable regulatory standards and procedures; (iii) safety considerations in testing, abatement, and worker protection; (iv) the overall accuracy and reliability of laboratory testing of physical samples, x-ray fluorescence machines, and other available testing procedures; (v) availability of qualified samplers and testers; (vi) an estimate of the amount, characteristics, and regional distribution of housing in the United States that contains lead-based paint hazards at differing levels of contamination; and (vii) the merits of an interim containment protocol for public housing dwellings that are determined to have lead-based paint hazards but for which comprehensive improvement assistance under section 1437 l 1 of this title is not available.