EPA Lead Based Paint RRP Training Certification

Renovations, repairs create dust that causes most exposures today
November 02, 2010|By Mike McClintock, Special to Tribune Newspapers

Problems with lead paint just won’t go away, even though the material was banned in 1978. New sources prompted recent recalls of lead-painted toys made in China. Old sources have prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new regulations that will dramatically impact renovation work in the 38 million homes with lead paint built before the ban.

The lead paint rule

The lead paint Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, in force since April, says that any contractor working in a home with lead paint who disturbs more than six square feet of painted surface inside or 20 square feet outside must be certified and follow EPA guidelines to prevent lead contamination. That could be a painting contractor, a carpenter removing a wall, even a plumber or electrician who opens up old surfaces to install new pipes or wires. If they don’t comply, fines run into thousands of dollars.

The new rule, which covers homes, schools and child care facilities, also applies to landlords, for instance, if you’re renovating a rental house, and to DIYers in their own homes. The EPA says that even a DIY improvement such as replacing old lead-painted drywall is covered by the rule, though it’s not clear how regulations could be enforced in those circumstances.

Expect costs to rise when you hire contractors to work on an older home. First, to protect themselves, contractors may insist on lead testing before the job starts. Then, if lead paint is detected, they will pass on the costs of training courses for workers, safety equipment, HEPA vacuums that can contain particles of lead dust, plus the extra time and material costs of enclosing and then cleaning the work area.

The driving forces behind the lead rule are continuing health problems caused by lead paint even 30 years after the ban. The EPA says that since 2000 about 1 million children have been damaged to some degree by lead poisoning. The health risks were documented decades ago when studies showed that babies and young children who chewed on lead-painted cribs and window sills sustained damage to their nervous systems and developed severe learning disabilities. But the rule targets renovation work because adults and children alike are exposed to the main culprit today: lead in dust form. It’s produced by scraping or sanding walls, cabinets, doors, windows or trim with lead-base paint. The EPA says it’s the way most people are exposed to lead today.

Identifying lead paint

This is a tricky subject for three reasons. First, the date of construction may be difficult to find and is not always accurate. Your title may list it, as well as records at your local tax assessor and real estate sites such as zillow.com. But they may not agree and probably do not date major renovations and additions.

Second, not all lead paint was removed from store shelves in 1978. And, of course, many homeowners continued to use supplies they had on hand for repairs and improvements.

Third, testing for lead paint can be expensive, inconclusive and incorrect. The EPA suggests hiring certified risk assessors or inspectors to check for possible contamination. That can involve X-ray fluorescence screening that costs about $500, several lab tests at about $85 each, and can total the better part of $1,000. But the EPA also covers DIY swab-test kits that consumers can use to check for lead. And the EPA has finally caught up with their inaccuracy.

Many kits returned high percentages of false positives, indicating lead when there was none, and false negatives, indicating no lead when lead was present. The Consumer Product Safety Commission found that no kit consistently detected lead when the old paint was covered with latex paint, a common situation. Flipping a coin produced the same level of certainty. Currently, the EPA recognizes only two kits that produce no more than 5 percent false negatives. The most widely available is the LeadCheck Instant Lead Check 8-Swab kit, about $25.

For more information, check with your local health and building department, contact the National Lead Information Center (800-424-5323) and read the EPA’s booklet, The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right, at epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf.

Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-02/classified/sc-home-1101-lead-20101102_1_paint-rule-lead-painted-lead-base-paint

Enforcement officers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been touring job sites in our area and checking to make sure companies working on homes built prior to 1978 are properly certified. Contractors caught working without the proper EPA certification face a stiff fine of $37,500 per day.

The EPA has notified the Battle Creek Association of Home Builders (BCAHB) that they have received many tips on their phone hotline and website about Michigan companies operating without the Lead Paint Safety RRP certification. If you are a contractor, be forewarned, several companies have already received heavy fines from the EPA – make sure you get properly certified.

We encourage residents that own a home built prior to 1978 to make sure their contractor is properly certified by the EPA and licensed by the State of Michigan to work on their home.

If you are looking for qualified contractors, we encourage you to use a member of the BCAHB.

You can view a list of our members online at BCAHB.org. If you are a contractor in need of the EPA certification, you can view a list of upcoming classes by visiting BCAHB.org and clicking on “Education.”

Let’s work together to make sure our homes and families are safe.

Ron Ermer

President

Battle Creek Association of Home Builders

A Massachusetts apartment complex owner is learning the hard way the importance of complying with the federal lead paint disclosure rules. The landlord faces an $83,575 penalty.

According to EPA, the complex owner failed to provide tenants with lead hazard information pamphlets, failed to include lead warning statements in leases, failed to include a disclosure statement regarding lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in leases, and failed to include lists of records or reports pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in leases.

INFO: Contact David Deegan at 617-918-1017.

Source: http://enviro.blr.com/environmental-news/EHS-management/EPA-and-state-environmental-compliance-enforcement/Landlord-Faces-85K-Fine/

Window replacement raises lead-paint issues
Friday, October 15, 2010; 8:56 PM

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/15/AR2010101506087.html

My daughter recently obtained estimates for replacing 17 windows in her home, which is more than 50 years old.

One contractor mentioned the Environmental Protection Agency’s new requirement of lead-paint precautions, containment and other things, which would add $500 to the project’s cost.

He also stated that she could first test for lead paint ($60), but because of the age of her home, the house more than likely contained lead paint.

The EPA Web site was confusing, so I’m not sure if she is required to follow the EPA guidelines. She has no children and no plans for them in the next few years.

One section of four connecting casement windows in the living room will be removed and replaced with three regular double-hung windows.

This will require removing and replacing some old woodwork. The remaining windows throughout the house will be normal window replacement.

Can you explain the EPA regulations so we will know if the lead paint precautions are necessary?
ad_icon

I’ll try, although a series of postponements and lawsuits have turned the situation into a mine field of contradictory information.

Originally, Congress passed a law requiring contractors who “disturb lead-based paint in homes, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978 to be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.” Although the law applies to 79 million houses, just 38 million of them are believed to have lead paint.

That law took effect April 22, but in late June, the EPA said it would delay enforcement of the law until October because there weren’t enough government-approved trainers needed to certify thousands of contractors.

That enforcement deadline has now been extended to Dec. 30. By early July, 320,000 contractors had been certified.

That’s one problem. The next one relates to your daughter’s decision to have children at some time.

The law had an “opt-out” clause that allowed consumers to permit contractors to bypass extra preparation, cleanup and record-keeping requirements in homes where there were no children younger than 6 or pregnant women, thus avoiding additional costs.

That provision expired July 6, and the EPA had no plans to reinstate it. The National Association of Home Builders and others filed suit to force the EPA to reinstate the opt-out rule.

If that rule were in force, your daughter could have chosen to bypass the law.

The law states that a hazardous condition exists when lead-paint dust is present on a floor to the extent of 40 micrograms (one millionth of a gram) in a square-foot area.

Another way of expressing it is if a one-square-centimeter chip of lead-based paint were ground into dust, it would, by EPA standards, contaminate 25 square feet of floor space.

The feds require the “proper” containment and cleanup when six or more square feet of lead-based paint will be disturbed in a home.

The EPA suggests consumers ask to see certification before they sign a contract.

Since December, 2008, remodelers have been required by law to supply a brochure to customers outlining the dangers and rules.
ad_icon

The thing I find most interesting is that your daughter’s contractor says that the cleanup will add $500 to the job.

According to the home builders’ association, a complete window replacement requires the contractor to install thick vinyl sheeting to surround the work area both inside the home and outdoors – with prep time and material costs adding an estimated $60 to $170 for each window.

By the builders’ estimates, remediating the lead would add $1,000 to $3,000 to the job, if 17 windows are involved. I’d say that if the contractor’s estimate is in writing, $500 for the entire job seems like a bargain.

Both sides acknowledge that there are differences in estimates of what meeting these requirements will cost the typical consumer. Make absolutely certain of what the real costs are before signing a contract.

-McClatchy-Tribune

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/15/AR2010101506087.html

New Regulations from EPA Went Into Effect On April 22, 2010

As you know, in 1992, Congress passed the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act.  The Act requires owners and real estate agents to provide a Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Form for all properties built prior to 1978.  The pamphlet is entitled “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home.”  When this law was passed, Congress required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop regulations to address renovation, repair and painting (RRP) activities that create lead-based paint hazards in single and multi-family homes.  The EPA developed and finalized the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program regulation, which went into effect on April 22, 2010.

This new rule could affect many real estate licensees who also perform property management and licensees who perform work to rental property that they own that was built prior to 1978.  If you are a property manager or an owner of rental property and you do RRP work for the properties that you manage that were built prior to 1978, you will need to be certified as a renovation firm.  If you own a duplex, tri-plex, four-plex, etc, and you do the renovation yourself to units where you will be receiving compensation, you are now required to be a certified renovation firm.  The requirement to be a certified renovation firm is only required when compensation is exchanged.

Prior to beginning any renovation work, you must provide tenants with a copy of the EPA’s lead hazard information pamphlet “Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools.”  Owners of these rental properties can document compliance with this new requirement through the EPA’s pre-renovation disclosure form.  There are three simple procedures that must be followed under lead-safe work practices: contain the work area, minimize dust and clean thoroughly.  If you decide not to do the renovations yourself and you hire outside contractors to conduct work for you, the responsibility is left to the contractor, but they too must be a certified firm.

These new rules may be waived under the following conditions:
1.  The home was built after 1978;
2.  If repairs on interior work disturb less than six (6) sq. ft. or exteriors disturb less than 20 sq. ft. (Note: This exemption does not apply to window replacements, demolition or jobs involving practices prohibited by this regulation.);
3.  If the house or components have been found to be lead free.  Such a determination can be made by a certified inspector or risk assessor; and
4.  If the property owner is conducting the RRP work themselves and the home where the work is being done is their principle residence, or if the owner of the property is not receiving compensation for the work being performed.

In order to become a certified renovator, individuals must take an eight-hour training course from an EPA-approved training provider.  There are several training locations throughout Kentucky in Louisville, Lexington, Paducah and Bowling Green.  The application and training information can be found on the EPA’s website (www.epa.gov).

Many licensees, as a courtesy to their clients and customers, give out a list of recommended contractors.  Although it is not required under this new rule, it is recommended that real estate licensees only recommend certified renovation firms to their clients and customers.  Licensees can find out if contractors are EPA certified by logging on to their website at (http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/ searchrrp_firm htm).

In closing, real estate licensees and property managers should make themselves aware of the requirements in the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule.  The EPA is working closely with the National Association of REALTORS® to make real estate licensees and property managers aware of the hazards of lead paint poisoning and ways to prevent it.  The NAR has developed several guidance videos that can be viewed on the EPA’s website.

Failure to abide by the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act or the new RRP regulation could result in both civil and criminal penalties against you.  Also, courts are authorized to award treble damages against violators, which are three times the complainant’s actual damages.  Recently, a 23-year old woman was awarded nearly $21 million dollars from a Baltimore jury after finding that the woman suffered lead poinsoning.  The apartment that the woman lived in was owned and operated by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.  Attorney Brian Brown said that the woman’s IQ was diminished by 10 points as a result of lead based paint poisoning.

For more information, please log on to the EPA’s website at www.epa.gov.  Once on the site, click on “lead” under Popular Topics and then just click on Renovation, Repair and Painting