To reduce lead poisonings, the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission has launched an online database of rental units that have been inspected by an independent party and certified free from lead hazards.

So far, the list includes more than 15,000 rentals, and it is updated as soon as landlords comply with the Lead Hazard Mitigation Act, which requires landlords to take a three-hour class on lead safety and have an independent, licensed inspection of all rental units built before 1978, the year that the sale of lead-based paint was banned in Rhode Island.

The database is designed to make it easier for potential residents to find out if the places they are checking out are free from lead hazards, as well as a simple way for landlords to certify their properties and list the information publicly.

To search a property, go to www.hrc.ri.gov and click on “Lead Mitigation Certificate Search,” and enter a city or town, or a street in a city or town.

In addition to that list, more than 3,000 units are covered by so-called “presumptive compliance,” which applies to owners of 10 or more units built from 1960 to 1978. Under these circumstances, owners are only required to certify 5 percent of their units annually. To ensure consistent compliance, the inspector chooses which units to check and looks at different properties every year.

“I think it’s a helpful development,” said Liz Colón, the director of training and outreach at the Childhood Lead Action Project. “I hope all property owners want their properties on this list.”

The list is off to a good start, said HRC office coordinator Doris De Los Santos, but still has a lot of room to grow.

According to the HRC, there are about 250,000 pre-1978 rental units in Rhode Island.

And although the number of children poisoned by lead continues to decrease, the Health Department reported 388 cases of first-time poisonings last year.

Together with repeat poisonings, the health department is aware of 614 children who were exposed to dangerous levels of lead last year.

“The point is that even though the numbers are decreasing, we still have 388 children that are being poisoned for the first time,” said Magaly Angeloni, assistant chief of the Office of Children’s Preventative Services for the Rhode Island Department of Health. “That’s a lot.”

To get a Certificate of Conformance, a unit must be certified by an inspector licensed by the RIDOH, who tests for the presence of lead dust, in addition to a list of lead mitigation requirements, such as having five feet of pavement around a building covering contaminated soil.

Unfortunately the new HRC database is not a one-stop-shop for all housing that is certified as safe of lead hazards.

The department of health also keeps a list of more than 6,000 units that have been certified as lead safe through a more extensive and costly process that landlords have the option of choosing, which includes testing for lead in a rental unit’s paint, soil, water and dust.

That list is not available online, but interested parties can get information on individual properties from the health department.

If a search of both lists does not yield results, the landlord may not be in compliance with the law. Current or prospective renters can print out a “Notice of Deteriorating Conditions” form on the HRC Web site to send to the owner via certified mail; the owner then has 30 days to comply. If he or she does not, then the HRC will get involved on the tenant’s behalf.

For more information, go to www.hrc.ri.gov or www.health.state.ri.us.

ngarcia@projo.com