How Not To Lead On Lead

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Chuck Becker

I recently posted on the new, federal Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule that is designed to address lead paint when encountered in home renovation.  Some changes were made to the Rule, but a delay of implementation of the Rule was refused by EPA even though the changes resulted in doubling the number of regulated companies.  However, it looks like EPA has had a slight change of heart.

Cynthia Giles, EPA's assistant administrator for enforcement, issued  "Further Implementation Guidance" on June 18th stating that no EPA enforcement action will be taken against renovation and repair firms for failing to be certified until October 1st, thus allowing a delay of about four months for those firms who have not yrt received  their certification.  Also, for individual workers who have not yet obtained their training, they can avoid enforcement action if they apply to enroll in a class by September 30th and their training is completed by December 31, 2010.  All lead safe work practices required by the Rule will apparently continue to be enforced.  Further, there could still be state enforcement in states that have passed laws to implement the program, those being Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi, Kansas, Rhode Island, Utah and Oregon.

The delay was at the request of National Home Builders Association, which has argued for more than a year that the training timetable imposed by EPA was impossible to meet. 

This is the kind of action that can cause one (or more) to lose confidence in their regulatory agencies.  It isn't that the delay was a bad idea -- doubling the number of of the regulated entities would cause difficulties even to the best run program.  The problem is that it took a flood and a vote by the Senate to get them to move. And then when they did finally act, it was so late that different renovators (some who made the deadline and some who did not) in different parts of the country (some in states with their own laws and some without) will be affected differently.  Not a great start for the program.

RELATED POSTS: Time To Get The Lead Out  

                            Some Weighty Changes In Lead Paint Rule 

 

 

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Time To Get The Lead Out

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Chuck Becker


At a time when home sales continue to struggle and more people are trying to fix up their homes rather than move, the cost of renovation is about to get more expensive.

On April 22, new regulations concerning lead-safe renovation practices will kick in. As of that date, if you hire someone to strip the paint from windows or use a sander to smooth chipping paint from an old door, that person will likely need to be certified by EPA.

The new rule applies to contractors that perform renovation or repairs that disturb paint in homes, child-occupied facilities and schools built before 1978. Contractors that undertake such work must be trained and certified by April 22, 2010. Currently, only Wisconsin and Iowa are federally authorized to administer and enforce the Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program.

A few of the high points of the Program are:

• The rule applies when more than six square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room or more than twenty square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior;

• For a pre-1978 structure, testing of the paint may be done or all paint will assumed to be lead-based;

• Work areas must be sealed off, dust minimized and cleanup done by wet mopping HEPA vacuuming. EPA warns “you may even want to move out of your home temporarily while all or parts of the work are being done" (p. 8);

• Workers that will be affected include, but are not limited to: painters, HVAC installers, carpenters, roofers, carpet installers, plumbers, repairmen, electricians, flooring installers and window/door installers;

• If you are a homeowner performing your own work, the RRP rule does not apply to your project.

EPA estimates that the work will add an average of $35 to the cost of projects in pre-1978 buildings; others believe the costs will be significantly more.  In the short term, it will be interesting to see what the regulations will do to federally and state funded weatherization projects.

While EPA has been asked to extend the deadline based on the fact that there are few contractors currently certified to do the work, there are no indications that there will be a delay.    So be prepared to spend some money to make the environment a little safer -- one house at a time.
 

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