Home Hazard Facts

Approximately 35 million metropolitan homes in the United States contain one or more health and safety risks that can lead to significant illness, injury or death.¹ Examples of these housing problems include lead paint hazards, water intrusion, injury and safety risks, pests, heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies.

• In 2012, 2,327 children under 6 tested in Detroit had elevated levels of lead (>5ug/dL) in their blood.²
• In 2012, 6,772 children under 6 tested statewide had elevated levels of lead (>5ug/dL) in their blood.²
• Even very low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in: permanent damage to the brain and nervous system, leading to behavior and learning problems, lower IQ, and hearing problems; slowed growth; and amenia.³
• About 60% of DPS students who performed below their grade level on 2008 standardized tests had elevated lead levels.⁴

• 40 percent of asthma episodes are caused by asthma triggers in the home.⁵
• The American Lung Association says an average of one out of every ten school-aged children has asthma.⁶
• Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases that affect American children that leads to 205,000 pediatric hospitalizations and 697,000 emergency department visits each year.⁷

• 1.6 million older adults were treated in U.S. emergency departments for unintentional fall-related injuries and 388,000 of these patients were subsequently hospitalized.⁸
• Almost one third of deaths in children ages 1-14 are from unintentional injuries.⁹
• The leading causes of fatal injuries among children ages 14 and under are motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, drowning and fires and/or burns.⁹

• About 400,000 residential fires each year result in $7 billion in property damage and 3,000 deaths.¹⁰
• A National Fire Protection Association survey said majority of Americans, 66 percent, have an escape plan in case of a fire, 34 percent haven’t practiced it.¹¹
• Cooking has been the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries since 1990.¹²
• Heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fire deaths.¹²

• 934 people were unintentionally poisoned by carbon monoxide in Michigan in 2011, including 22 fatally. The leading causes of exposure included faulty furnaces or water heaters (23%), generators (10.5%) and vehicles (10.3%).¹³
• According to HUD, each year, more than 500 people in the U.S. die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.¹⁴

• 47 percent of households in the US with children under 5 years old had a pesticide stored in an unlocked cabinet within reach of a child.¹⁵

• The Environmental Protection Agency estimates second-hand smoke causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in non-smokers.¹⁶
• Children are especially vulnerable to the dangers of second-hand smoke.¹⁶

• The average indoor radon levels of Wayne County is 2.5 pCi/L. The average national indoor radon level is 1.3 pCi/L.¹⁷
• 17% of Wayne County homes have dangerous levels of radon at 4 pCi/L or more.¹⁷
• 1 out of 15 homes are above the EPA level of concern for radon.¹⁸
• The EPA estimates that about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related.¹⁸

• Low-income households typically spend 14 percent of their total income on energy costs compared with 3.5 percent for other households.¹⁹

1. National Center for Healthy Housing: 2013 State of Healthy Housing (http://www.nchh.org/policy/2013stateofhealthyhousing.aspx)
2. Michigan Department of Community Health, Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program: 2012 Annual Data Report on Blood Lead Levels of Children in Michigan (http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/2012AnnualDataReportOnBloodLeadLevels_419508_7.pdf)
3. United States Environmental Protection Agency: Learn About Lead ( http://www2.epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead#lead)
4. Lam, T. and Tanner-White, K. “High lead levels hurt learning for DPS kids.” Detroit Free Press (May 16, 2010).
5. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build A Healthier America. “Beyond Health Care: New Directions To A Healthier America Report.” April 2009
6. American Lung Association, Epidemiology and Statistics Unit, Research Program Services. Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality. February 2010. (http://www.lungusa.org/finding-cures/our-research/trend-reports/asthma-trend-report.pdf)
7. Takaro, T.K., et al. (2011). The Breathe-Easy Home: The Impact of Asthma-Friendly Home Construction on Clinical Outcomes and Trigger Exposure. American Journal pf Public Health, 101(1), 55-62.
8. CDC Injury Fact Book, Page 62 (http://www.cdc.gov/Injury/publications/FactBook/InjuryBook2006.pdf)
9. Safe Kids USA High Risk Fact Sheet (http://www.safekids.org/our-work/research/fact-sheets/high-risk-fact-safety.html)
10. NFPA Residential structure fires by year (http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=41016)
11. NFPA 2004 Harris Interactive Study, Page 6 (http://www.nfpa.org/assets/images/Public%20Education/FPWsurvey.pdf)
12. NFPA Fast Facts About Fire (http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1203&itemID=28255)
13. Michigan Department of Community Health: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-54783_54784_54787—,00.html)
14. HUD: About Carbon Monoxide (http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/healthy_homes/healthyhomes/carbonmonoxide)
15. EPA Citizens Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety Page 30 (http://www2.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/citizens-guide-pest-control-and-pesticide-safety)
16. EPA: Secondhand Tobacco Smoke and Smoke-free Homes  (http://www2.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/secondhand-tobacco-smoke-and-smoke-free-homes)
17. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Wayne County Radon Information (http://county-radon.info/MI/Wayne.html)
18. EPA: A Citizen’s Guide to Radon (http://www2.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html)
19. U.S. Dept. of Energy (http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-provides-1403-million-low-income-families-home-weatherization)