Sunday, March 21, 2010

Why Use Lead Safe Work Practices and What Does It Mean to You

2:06 PM | Posted by Bernie Roland | Edit Post
If your contractor is not telling you about lead paint or is not following the law regarding lead paint, you should find another contractor.
Health Hazard
The danger to the health of people and especially our children from ingesting lead has been a medical fact for decades! Lead paint was banned from use in consumer products in 1978. Historically lead was used as an additive to paint to improve its durability and drying time.  We did not realize that ingesting or inhaling lead, in the form of paint chips or dust, could be harmful especially to young children. Prior to 1978 lead paint was in common use in houses and multi-family buildings. It is estimated that 35 percent of the housing in Colorado was built before 1978.
Homeowner Information
“Renovate Right: Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools”  a pamphlet published by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). In an attempt to educate the public and reduce the potential hazard of lead paint in older houses, the EPA requires that contractors inform their customers about lead paint by providing their customers with the EPA pamphlet before work begins on your home, unless your home was built after 1977.
Testing & Certified Renovators
As of April 22, 2010, for homes and multi-family buildings that were built before 1978 that are being remodeled in a fashion that impacts painted surfaces, the contractor must test on or more paint samples from each work area to check for lead paint.  Testing must be performed by and EPA approved  “Certified Renovator” and a reputable Contractor should have EPA approved Certified Renovators on staff or consulting. 
Lead-safe Work Practices
Lead-safe work practices are mandatory if lead paint is found in the work area. A lead-safe work practice requires the use of specialized clothing, equipment, procedures and clearance testing to properly perform and finalize the work. Proper procedures will reduce the risk of dust arising from the disturbance of the lead paint.  Only EPA registered Contractors are allowed to perform this work and only Certified Renovators with specially trained crews can perform lead safe work practices.
Cost
Testing adds expense and the use of lead-safe work practices will increase the time and costs incurred by contractors working to comply with regulations.  You can expect the cost of these extra safety measures to be passed on to the homeowner in the form of an LSWP Fee (Lead Safe Work Practice Fee).  Depending on the size and paint impact caused by the project these fees could add hundreds to thousands of dollars to the cost of your project.  Project time frames will also be extended.
Exemptions & Exclusions
Currently exemptions and exclusions exist that provide cause for passing up the use of lead-safe work practices, even on a house built before 1978. A knowledgeable contractor should explain these exemptions and exclusions to you.  With expert information you can determine if the savings of an exemption or exclusion would sacrifice safety. A Certified Renovator should give you copies of any exemption or exclusion forms used by a contractor, as well as copies of the results of any paint samples tested.
Contractor Integrity
If lead-safe work practices are used for a planned remodeling project, you should be given a certificate signed by the Certified Renovator showing that lead-safe work practices were properly performed.  Additionally a qualified contractor will provide you with liability insurance certificates that document the contractor is insured to do lead paint testing and renovation work.  








For other resources on lead, visit the following Web sites:
http://www.epa.gov/lead/ — EPA is playing a major role in addressing residential lead hazards, including deteriorating lead-based paint, lead contaminated dust and lead contaminated residential soil. This Web site provides information about lead and lead hazards and provides some simple steps to protect your family. It contains links to basic information, as well as more detailed information and documents on lead in the news, rules and regulations, education and outreach materials, training, and other lead links.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/ — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (OHHLHC) is unique among federal agencies dealing with lead- hazards, as it is staffed to bring lead health science to bear directly upon America’s housing. The site will direct you to resources on lead paint regulations, training, guidance/technical guidelines and compliance and enforcement.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/lead/index.html — The mission of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to assure the safety and health of America’s workers by: setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvements in workplace safety and health. OSHA has established the reduction of lead exposure as a high strategic priority. This site contains links to lead recognition, evaluation, compliance, and training resources.

http://www.cdc.gov/lead — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are committed to achieving improvements in people’s health. This site provides CDC’s compiled information on lead and includes materials and links for parents, health professionals, researchers, students and others interested in the topic of lead. The key resources include fact sheets, guidelines and recommendations and questions and answers.

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