The Lead Law in Layman’s Terms
This law was enacted to protect children under 6 and unborn children in the womb. Why? In the 19th and 20th century, industry in the USA created a malady that is still here to haunt us. Lead was used in many forms as a additive in fuel, as an additive in paint and many other uses. Those uses are long gone as the medical doctors saw young children, with some mighty strange diseases. As doctoring became, more and more astute. Blood tests became the norm and strange diseases seemed to couple with high lead counts in the blood. When we got to the 7th decade in the 20th century lead was already banned from auto fuel and paint. In the late 80's lead again was banned in plumbing fixtures, faucets, and lead was removed from the solder used to solder water piping (copper) together. And now we are up to date … 2010. The Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) has enacted the RRP (Renovation, Repair & Painting) rule. What does this mean to you and your home? Nothing! If your house was built after 1978. Built before 1978 it means no tradesman can work in your property and do any type of renovation without checking to see if lead is present. If lead is found by using an EPA approved chemical or electronic testing device and the results are positive. Then that lead must be contained. If the test is negative, no lead found then the law has no effect. Simple, the person testing could lie and say no lead found. Well the fines for any violations in this law are $37,500.00 per day I don’t think there will be cheating!
The EPA is in the process of educating contractors and their employees in the correct way to catch, contain and dispose of lead dust & chips. Any work area in your home that has a 6 square foot area disturbed and any area on the outside of your home that has a work area of 20 square feet disturbed fall under the arm of this new law.
It is mandated that the person you employ to do your renovation, repair and painting work has attended a EPA certified training school, has passed a test and has become certified.
Must any lead found be removed (abated)? No you don’t have to rebuild your house or move out. This is a containment, disposal and cleanup law. A contractor cannot just come in and start tearing down walls, blow led dust & chips all over the place and leave it lay, nor can he/she let it be drawn into heating ducts, walk it into carpets or let it fall to the ground outside. Their training dictates what kind of tools must be used, the areas that must be covered and taped, signage that must be posted warning others that lead is present. At the end of the work day or job special HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners must be used to clean the area. And then there must be a wipe down which must pass a pre-determined standard.
Why was the (loop hole), the opt-out clause removed? People don’t stay in their house forever, when the house is sold and a new family moves in possibly the new family will have young children, or a mother to be. Opting out today will compound this problem tomorrow.
Must the total house be checked for lead? No only the immediate work area. What kind of lead are you looking for? Primarily paint, which over the years may have been painted over.
Window replacement is a prime example. Those early coats of paint on the jambs and in the tracks, are prime locations to find lead dust, along with areas where piping is concealed or where old ceramics must be removed.
I see lead pipes in my basement must they be removed? No this law addresses only dust & chips, it doesn’t take into consideration hard types of lead. Like piping or the joints in cast iron sewer pipe.
Hope this has helped you understand!
Written as a customer service by William Parr owner Parr's Plumbing
Now that you have read the Laymen version, what must you do?
First make sure when having work done that the contractor has given you the
EPA "Renovate Right Booklet" Read it as it describes in detail the effects of lead
and the concern to eliminate from it our society
and where to get help if you need it.
