House Painting Firm Shearer Painting a Seattle and Tacoma companyprovides professional quality house painting color assistance for home owners. Lead Paint information.
For centuries, lead paint has been a dangerous aspect of painting. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the hazards of lead paint were realized; the U.S. government banned its use or sale in 1978. Still, many American schools and homes still have lead paint on their walls. If you decide to renovate, paint, or repair your home, take heed, because it can be dangerous; it may turn existing lead paint into dust that adults or children can inhale. Certified Lead Paint Renovator methods are increasingly effected by lead paint. It is for this reason that the Environmental Protection Agency EPA decided to create a new certification program that stipulates repair, renovation, and painting RRP workers to take special training and use “lead-safe” practices on jobs. This is a long overdue and important safety measure for RRP workers.
The EPA’s Lead-Safe Certification Program, published in 2008, took effect April 2010. The program requires RRP workers, when working with lead paint in schools, child-care centers, or homes built before 1978, to be certified in lead paint removal. The EPA then went on a PR blitz to encourage clients to only work with RRP firms that were certified in lead paint removal. The agency estimates that over 200,000 United States renovators will have done work on pre-1978 buildings within one year of the program’s inception.
Lead paint that is in technically “good shape” will only harm humans when removed in the wrong way. Most of the time, lead dust or chips will be found on the areas of the building that get the most use, like stairs, doors, porches, and windowsills. If an area with lead paint is scraped, heated, or sanded, it can turn the lead into particle matter that resides in the air.
What many home or business owners may not realize is that the ground around their property could contain lead The dirt can absorb lead paint particles from the exterior walls, and dust inside the building can contain lead. If you’re worried that your children have been exposed and suffered from prolonged exposure, take them to the doctor for a blood test.
Landlords of buildings built pre-1978 are required by the EPA to talk about possible lead paint present in the home with potential tenants; important information must also appear on the lease agreement. If you’re selling a building built pre-1978, you must also provide all lead paint details to the buyers making a purchase. If a seller or buyer doesn’t know if the building contains lead, they can have a paint inspection and risk assessment done to determine how much lead if any is in the paint and what problems it may cause.
The Lead-Safe Certification Program may seem to be fear-mongering to some, but it wasn’t developed by the government just to inquire into a homeowners’ private life. If a child is exposed to lead paint, he or she can have behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and compromised intelligence; symptoms may not be present until the damage done is irreversible. A child’s developing body is more prone to lead poisoning than an adults’, and it takes a greater toll. While lead poisoning in children is completely preventable, it still affects over one million children.
Lead paint is also harmful to pregnant women. If a pregnant woman inhales lead dust, it can be harmful for the baby. In adults, excess lead can lead to nerve damage, hypertension, declined memory or concentration, reproductive issues, or pain in the joints or muscles. Because two-thirds of U.S. homes and apartments buildings in the States were built pre-1978, the EPA’s new policy is a paramount program.
RRP workers who practice lead-safe procedures are not only protecting clients but also themselves. Protective clothing and facemasks should be employed as well as plastic sheeting to contain a work area. Workers, like children exposed to lead dust, should also take regular blood tests.
While the new practices from the EPA cost more than the old, unsafe ones do, it’s important for RRP workers to follow the rules. Lead-safe projects cost between $8 and $167 more on average. If you are dealing with an exterior job that needs vertical containment, it’ll cost you even more. Because these extra expenses on the contractor’s part may cost the customer more, some homeowners and landlords may want to do these improvements themselves; it spares them having to follow the EPA’s rules to the letter, but it would be unwise to ignore them. One of the most important aspects of the program is to sandblast lead paint only at low power, and to seal drains, vents, and faucets when removing paint; otherwise, dust could infiltrate your home.
To apply for certification, a company needs to fill out a form and pay a $300 fee. The company’s employees then take eight hours of training, two of which are hands-on. The EPA provides accredited instructors to give proper training, and some contractors may serve as trainers in their area. Presently, hundreds of approved trainers reside in the United States, and each one determines his or her training fees. Once trained, the RRP workers will lessen the quantity of lead dust produced on each job, effectively contain their work area, and clean up entirely after a job is done. The RRP workers also prepare the homes before starting work and notify the owners about safety concerns during the process of renovating their home.
Lead paint certification by the EPA for removal is valid for up to five years. If your RRP company isn’t yet certified, contact the EPA as soon as possible. E-learning is a popular choice as well. Training materials are available in English as well as Spanish and inform the worker about dust containment, prep, proper clean-up and much more. Small jobs or, jobs that disturb less than 6 sq. ft. of interior paint or 20 sq. ft. of exterior paint don’t have to follow the new rules. States and tribes can create their own personal lead-safe practices, but they must be equivalent to the federal practices.
A customer should receive the EPA’s pamphlet on lead dangers from his or her contractor. Customers have the right to see a company’s certification and/or receive a copy of it; the company should also explain the lead-safe practices it uses on individual jobs. Contractors should have at least three references based on pre-1978 jobs and should have a record of all major details in relation to their employees’ training in lead-safe practices.
If you choose to hire an uncertified RRP company, know that it isn’t worth it; you’d be putting yourself and others at risk, and your contractor would risk large fines as much as $37,500/violation/day or even jail time. If you still have reservations about the EPA’s lead-safe certification, call 1-800-424-LEAD; you can also look for a firm in your area by going to the EPA website.
The dangers of lead paint shouldn’t be disregarded. The EPA is, after all, only trying to protect consumers and workers. It’s now the consumers’ choice to demand the safest possible work practices, and to the contractors to become certified and use only EPA-regulated practices. If everyone works together, we can ensure greater safety in buildings and homes all across the United States.
