Anti-lead advocates scored a big win in court in February when a jury ruled that three paint companies sold products they knew contained toxic lead. The Rhode Island attorney general had sued the paint makers as a result of sustained advocacy by the Childhood Lead Action Project. The suit charged that companies sold dangerous paint used in cribs and toys as well as houses, and that this constituted a public nuisance. After the jury decision, a judge ruled that the companies do not have to pay punitive damages, but they must pay to clean up lead paint throughout the state. HUD has estimated that 40 percent of homes in the United States contain lead paint. (Alliance for Healthy Homes)
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