Research to Move Toward Evidence-Based Recommendations for Lead Service Line Disclosure Policies in Home Buying and Home Renting Scenarios

Hang Lu, Rainer Romero-Canyas, Sofia Hiltner, Tom Neltner, Lindsay McCormick and Jeff Niederdeppe
Additional contact information
Hang Lu: Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Rainer Romero-Canyas: Office of Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, NY 10010, USA
Sofia Hiltner: Office of Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, NY 10010, USA
Tom Neltner: Program in Environmental Health, Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, DC 20009, USA
Lindsay McCormick: Program in Environmental Health, Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, DC 20009, USA
Jeff Niederdeppe: Department of Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Lead service lines (LSLs)—lead pipes connecting the water main under the street to a building’s plumbing—contribute an estimated 50% to 75% of lead in tap water when they are present. Although Congress banned lead in plumbing materials in 1986, over 6 million LSLs remain in homes across the United States today. This paper summarizes three different home buying or renting scenario-based experimental studies used to evaluate disclosure styles, to assess if these influenced respondents’ perceived risk of the LSL in a home, and their willingness to act. In renting scenarios, having landlords disclose the presence of an LSL, but also provide water test results showing lead levels below the EPA’s lead action level resulted in lower levels of perceived risk, and of willingness to act. In seller-disclosure home buying scenarios, levels of perceived risk and willingness to act were consistently high, and three different disclosure styles did not differentially influence those outcomes. In home inspector-disclosure home buying scenarios, levels of perceived risk and willingness to act were high, but having explicit recommendations to replace LSLs and/or information about risk did not further influence those outcomes. In some cases, including the specific recommendations backfired. Implications for policy and regulation are discussed.

Keywords: lead service lines; scenario-based experiment; property disclosure style; home inspector; risk perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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