As of April 22, 2010, federal law required that:
Renovation firms be certified under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule
Individuals be trained in lead-safe work practices
- Training providers be accredited by EPA.
For Federal Requirements and Lead information, click here.
For Washington State Regulations and Lead
Enforcement, click here.
What Remodelers Need to Know About the EPA's Lead Paint Rule
According to EPA, childhood lead poisoning
is a serious, yet preventable environmental illness. Experts believe
that blood lead levels as low as 10 micrograms per deciliter are associated
with children's learning and behavioral problems. High blood lead
levels cause devastating health effects, such as seizures, coma, and
death. Over the past 30 years, the U.S. has made great progress in
combating this disease by addressing a wide range of sources of lead
exposures. The Federal government has phased out lead in gasoline,
reduced lead in drinking water, and banned or limited lead use in
consumer products, including toys, food cans, and residential paint.
States and municipalities have initiated programs to identify and
treat lead poisoned children and to rehabilitate deteriorated housing.
Parents, too, greatly contributed to reducing their children's exposure
The U.S. children's blood lead
levels significantly decreased during the 1970's and 1980's. However,
almost one million children under six still have blood lead levels
above 10 micrograms per deciliter, with a disproportionate number
of them living in inner cities; thus, lead poisoning is a major
concern associated with environmental justice issues. There are
also significant numbers of children living in suburban and rural
areas that suffer from lead poisoning.
EPA's current lead program
focuses on the primary source (lead based paint) of lead-poisoning
in children in the U.S. today. A 1991 report issued by the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) showed that lead-based paint
was used in millions of older homes and housing units in the United
States. Studies showed that lead-based paint has a tendency to become
incorporated in household dust as it cracks and weathers, lead paint
also may chip or release particles into the air as a result of routine
friction on impact surfaces (such as windows, window sills, doors).
Young children may ingest the lead-contaminated dust during typical
childhood behavior such as crawling on floors and then putting their
fingers in their mouth or mouthing toys or other objects that are
covered with contaminated dust. Some children exhibiting pica behavior
(a chronic tendency of mouthing or eating non-food objects) could
also swallow paint chips and be lead poisoned.
For more information on lead,
its health effects, rules and regulations and EPA's lead program,
please explore their website.