New Lead Paint Rules take Effect April 22
Beginning April 22, 2010, new rules will apply to the way lead-based paint is handled in the U.S. Landlords are currently required to disclose the possible presence of lead paint in all homes built before 1978, when the addition of lead to paint was banned.
Soon, new regulations will go into effect, stating contractors must be certified to work in homes that contain lead paint. And the regulations will cause dramatic changes in the way contractors deal with paint dust. For one thing, workers will have to wear Tyvek coveralls, respirators, goggles, hoods, and rubber gloves and boots. Plastic sheeting will need to be spread 10 feet out from the site they are working on—for instance, a window they are replacing, and caution tape must be placed around the work site, at a 12-foot radius. Special signs saying, “Lead Poison Hazard: Do Not Enter” must be posted on site.
Why the stringent new rules? (The rules aren’t all that new: the government posted them back in 2008, to give contractors plenty of time to comply.) The EPA reports that about one million children are affected each year by lead poisoning as a result of exposure—mostly to paint or paint dust. That’s thousands of children harmed every day.
Lead is nothing to take lightly. Lead poisoning is extremely dangerous to children. Only about 5% of contractors have taken the necessary classes and become certified. The good news is, only one worker per site needs to be certified, but all must follow the new regulations for protection. Still, nearly 100,000 workers have already been trained to work around lead safely.
The rest need to become certified—especially if they don’t want their business to drop more than it has during the economic downturn. Now that the deadline is looming, classes are filling up fast!