Bill's Building Blog

LeadCheck record-keeping forms

Keeping records for all RRP jobs is imperative. And it needn't be difficult if you're organized.

LeadCheck, one of the few test kits recognized by the EPA for testing for lead on wood and metal, makes available a full set of record-keeping forms. 

Download the full set of record-keeping forms

EPA fines painting company $32,508 for violating lead law, failing to inform homeowners of lead-paint dangers

Press release from the EPA:

(Seattle – April 6, 2011) College Works Painting, a company operating in Oregon, has agreed to pay $32,508 penalty for alleged violations of the federal pre-renovation rule. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleged that the Irvine, California based company violated the federal pre-renovation rule while renovating nine properties in Portland, McMinnville, and Hillsboro, Oregon. 

The federal Pre-Renovation Education Rule requires painters, contractors, carpenters, property-management companies and others involved in remodeling or renovation of pre-1978 housing to provide home owners and occupants with an EPA Renovate Right lead hazard information pamphlet. In 1978 lead was banned from paint used for housing.

This pamphlet educates home owners or occupants on how to minimize exposure to hazardous lead dust that is often generated during sanding, cutting, demolition or other renovation activities. The pamphlet also provides resources for more information about lead and minimizing lead hazards.

The violations in this case took place during renovation work done in 2008.

College Works failed to establish and maintain records necessary to demonstrate compliance with Toxic Substances Control Act regulations, according to the EPA. College Works has corrected the violations and is now in compliance with EPA’s Pre-Renovation Education Rule.

“Families have a right to know about possible lead health hazards around the home,” said Rick Albright, Director of EPA’s Office of Air, Waste and Toxics in Seattle. “By reading the Renovate Right pamphlet families can learn how to avoid hazardous lead dust during renovations.”

Lead-based paint can be on walls, ceilings, woodwork, windows, or even floors. When lead-based paint on these surfaces is chipped, sanded, or scraped, it breaks into tiny, barely visible pieces that children can swallow or inhale. Even small repair and renovation jobs, including repainting projects, can create enough lead dust and chips to harm children.

Lead poisoning is a silent disease that can cause serious health consequences for children because of its detrimental effects on both physical and mental development. Nearly one million children in the country are affected by elevated lead levels.

For copies of the Federal pamphlet, Renovate Right, the Federal Rule, or information on the hazards of lead paint, call 1-800-424-LEAD or via the Internet at: www.epa.gov/lead.

Q&A: Can EPA RRP records be kept only on my computer?

Question: Under the RRP Rule, can the required records and documentation be stored electronically rather than as paper copies?

Answer: Yes. The renovation firm is responsible for retaining and making available to EPA all records necessary to demonstrate compliance with the RRP Rule for a period of 3 years following completion of the renovation. The RRP Rule does not specify the format in which records must be kept.

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D-Lead record keeping form for EPA RRP projects

In every EPA RRP-compliant project, part of the process involves keeping excellent records of what you tested and the results. This is called "protecting your assets."

D-Lead — one of the two testing kids approved by EPA for RRP jobs (along with LeadCheck), and the only one authorized for testing for lead on plaster, stucco, sheetrock/drywall — has provided a record keeping form. 

The two pages of the form are below (click to enlarge), or you can download the two-page form in PDF from D-Lead.

More D-Lead downloads:

D-Lead® Paint Test Kit Product Literature

D-Lead® Paint Test Kit Instruction Manual (English)

D-Lead® Paint Test Kit Instruction Manual (Spanish)

The remodeling industry's new lobbyist

There is a new lobbyist on the scene in Washington to represent the concerns of the remodeling industry. 

Thomas M. Sullivan, who was hired by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, runs the Small Business Coalition for Regulatory Relief. SBCRR recently beat back an EPA regulation on runoff from construction sites.

See the whole story here