Minneapolis is once again hiring contractors to remove lead paint from homes in the city, the latest step in a years-long effort to address one of the most persistent environmental health hazards in Minnesota's largest city.

The scale of the problem is daunting. About 70% of Minneapolis homes were built before 1978, when the federal government banned lead-based paint, and a significant share predate 1940, when lead concentrations in paint were highest. As that paint deteriorates, it creates dust and chips that are the primary source of lead exposure for young children. There is no safe level of lead exposure in children: it causes irreversible neurological damage, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems.

The city's Health Department has been running lead abatement programs for years, typically triggered when a child tests positive for elevated blood lead levels. The work proceeds property by property, contractor by contractor, in what amounts to a grinding, decades-long effort to make a dent in tens of thousands of affected homes.

The burden falls hardest on communities of color. Black and Indigenous children in Minneapolis have historically tested positive for elevated blood lead levels at significantly higher rates than white children, a pattern rooted in decades of residential segregation that concentrated families in older, poorly maintained rental housing, particularly in North Minneapolis.

Federal funding has been the backbone of the city's efforts. HUD awarded Minneapolis a $4.9 million Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction grant in 2022, one of several such awards over the years. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also included additional funds for lead paint remediation nationwide, and the federal government has steadily tightened its definition of dangerous blood lead levels in children, expanding the number of families who qualify for intervention.

Still, advocates have long argued that funding levels, while growing, remain far short of what's needed to address the full scope of the problem. The pace of abatement is slow relative to the number of at-risk homes, and without sustained investment, the gap may never fully close.

The city is currently accepting bids from qualified contractors to carry out the next round of abatement work. The specific properties and dollar value involved were not publicly listed in the solicitation.