Contractor Bulletin - New EPA Lead Safety Rules

Professional painting contractors, remodeling and general contractors or rental property managers have an important responsibility to protect the health & safety of the public by helping to prevent undue lead exposure that may be present in older buildings.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared that many residential homes, schools, commercial and public buildings built before 1978 still may have lead-based paint on the surfaces. Work practice standards, notifications and records-keeping for painters and other contractors and property maintenance managers have been mandated to limit lead-dust on renovation projects.

Important Notice: National EPA regulations are being enacted to protect against this lead risk and are effective April 22, 2010.

All Professional Contractors working in residential homes, childcare facilities and schools, and apartments built before 1978 must be EPA certified, All contractors must follow specific worksite practices to help prevent lead contamination, The potential penalty fees for not complying with the regulations are serious, Contractors In violation of the rule can be fined up to $32,500 per violation per day.

 

UNDERSTANDING THE NEW RULES

• The Lead-Based Paint - Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (RRP) is a federal EPA regulation that affects painting contractors, property managers and other professional contractors who disturb painted surfaces as part of their work.
• The regulations apply to house structures, apartments and child-occupied facilities such as schools and day-care centers built before 1978 in the United States, The rules apply to both interior and exterior painting and renovation projects.
• New rules include education requirements that include classroom training, worksite practices, notifications and record keeping requirements and certification. A list of EPA accredited Training Agencies providers can be seen at the EPA website, www.epa.gov.

Some Exceptions to the Rules:

LEAD FREE - The building or area being renovated Is declared to be free of lead-based paint by a certified renovator using an EPA recognized lead test kit, or was built in 1978 or later.
SMALL AREA - When the project work is minor, disturbing less than six square feet of painted surface on interior projects, or less than twenty square feet of surface on an exterior.
NO SANDING - The work includes only painting application and does not disturb the existing surfaces, like sanding, scraping or other preparation activities that may cause jobsite dust.
NO CHILDREN - Residential housing is for the elderly or disabled, and children do not reside there or the housing is a zero-bedroorn dwelling.
EMERGENCY - Or, when immediate renovations are required in emergency building repair situations.

How Rules May Affect You

Effective April 22, 2010, if you are a professional, working for compensation on a painting or renovation project built prior to 1978 that will disturb paint finishes in a residential home, childcare facility or school, apartments and other buildings, you must comply with the new EPA lead safety regulations.

• Painting Contractors, property management firms and other contractors must be EPA-certified and their employees must be trained in the use of lead-safe work practices. Painting and maintenance work must be performed in accordance with the EPA Lead-Based Paint - Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (RRP) standards.

• You must follow EPA-mandated lead-safe work practices such as detailed jobsite dust containment measures, clean-up and waste disposal procedures, and maintain written documentation of your training and lead-safe practices in accordance with EPA mandate. See EPA's article, "Steps to Lead Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting".

• You must provide the building owners and residents with o specific EPA lead hazard pamphlet prior to start of the renovation "Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools", and you must post lead hazard warning signs and restrict occupants from the jobsite during renovation.

• For complete details regarding the rules affect you, go to the EPA website www.epa.gov . Download the brochure titled "Small Entity Compliance Guide to Renovate Right: EPAs Lead-Based Paint, Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program."

NEXT STEPS FOR PAINTERS

1. GET EDUCATED about the new EPA Lead Rule by visiting the EPA lead website at www.epa.gov for complete rule explanations, training requirements and lead-information pamphlets, or by calling the National Lead Information Center at 800-424-5323 to have information pamphlets sent to you.
2. GET CERTIFIED by attending an 8-hour EPA-accredited RRP classroom training course and paying the fee to be certified. A list of accredited training providers is available at the above EPA website or by calling the National Lead Information Center.
3. FOLLOW THE RULES effective April 22, 2010 with regard to resident notification and posting, lead-safe work-practices, clean-up procedures and jobsite documentation and record keeping.

For further valuable information:

Visit www.epa.gov or Contact the National Lead Information Center at 800-424-5323

This important information is provided by Kelly-Moore Paint to help notify professional painting contractors and others to become aware of EPA regulatory changes that may effect their business only. Kelly-Moore does not accept responsibility for any contractor or customer non-compliance. For specific and exact regulatory language, certification concerns and possible penalties for rule violations, please contact the US Environmental Protection Agency.