Moton Apart ments, the public housing complex located on Martin Luther King Drive, is still undergoing the removal of lead-based paint.

City Councilman A. L. Dowdell feels the residents' health is being neglected by the Auburn City Housing Authority. However, he is making plans to help the people sue if the conditions don't change.

Ed Sprayberry, the director of Facilities Management Division Office of Public Housing for Alabama, said all Housing and Urban Development regulations for lead-based paint removal a re being met.

According to HUD regulations, danger signs are not required to be hung unless the paint is peeling or flaking.

The paint on all the poles near Moton Apartments has peeled away. In fact, the paint comes off when touched, but there are no signs posted to indicate any kind of health hazard.

HUD regulations also state that anyone living in public housing must be warned, prior to moving in, of the possibility of lead-based paint existing in the apartments, Sprayberry said.

When asked , Moton tenants admitted they had signed such a document, but there was never any mention of possible danger. This warning was only begun in the early '90s, though some families had been there since the early '80s.

Under HUD rules there are no requirem ents to test people for lead poisoning, Sprayberry said.

Dowdell has been notified by a lawyer that the children may be tested for free in Montgomery at a state health facility, but "these people have no transportation. The city should be responsible for getting buses to take them to Montgomery," Dowdell said.

HUD has provided a product called Peel Away for the removal of the paint. This is a chemical that does not produce lead dust in the removal process. Instead, it solidifies on the poles and c an then be peeled off. According to Micky McInnish, lawyer and spokesman for the Auburn Housing Authority, in the April 4 addition of The Plainsman, Peel Away "is not considered hazardous after it is used."

CHRIS PARKER/ Assistant News Editor

When asked if this procedure would damage the soil, Sprayberry said Peel Away is a very strong chemical and should always be properly cleaned off because "it would be damaging and dangerous to let the product soak into the ground.

McInnish said the Auburn Housing Authority did ground tests showing the level of lead be low the EPA requirements. However, there was no mention of the level of lead found in the poles.

The children of Moton Apartments are still playing on the poles, and the playground area is located close to the apartments that are being worked on. Ther e are still no warnings by the city of any kind of health hazards.

Dowdell understands that some regulations are being met, but said the city is taking its time removing the paint.

"This is more of a moral issue than a legal one. We should be conce rned about the children's health because they will suffer the most from this. The mayor's office has done nothing to educate the parents about lead-based paint poisoning," he said.

When questioned on the issue, Auburn Mayor Jan Dempsey said she had not looked into the issue and she didn't feel it was the responsibility of the mayor's office.