A class-action settlement agreement that aims to protect New Haven children from lead poisoning has officially gone into effect.
A state superior court judge signed off Tuesday on a settlement between the City of New Haven and 300 families, where children under the age of 6 tested for elevated levels of lead in their blood.
The settlement details dozens of steps the city must take to inspect and enforce the clean-up of lead exposures in the city’s aging housing stock. Lead can be found in cracking paint, polluted soil and aging water pipes.
The agreement stays in place until 2024. It ends a lawsuit that was first filed against the city’s health department in 2019 by New Haven Legal Assistance.