Posted by: Diane Capuano

Trade groups such as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and the National Association of Home Builders are praising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to not add lead-dust clearance testing as an addendum to the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule that went into effect in April of last year.

“After carefully weighing all available information and considering the public comments, EPA has concluded it is not necessary to impose new lead-dust sampling and laboratory analysis, known as the clearance requirements, as part of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule,” the EPA said. “The agency believes that the existing lead-safe work practices and clean-up requirements‒which went into place in 2010‒will protect people from lead dust hazards created during renovations jobs without the need for additional clearance requirements.” (more…)

Posted by: Tamela Adamson-McMullen

While the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) that went into effect on April 22 seemed fairly straightforward, the ramifications of the rule are anything but.

The rule stipulates that contractors involved in any renovation, repair or painting of homes, childcare facilities or schools built before 1978 must be trained and certified to prevent lead contamination while working. But since its effective date, the rule has encountered a few bumps in the road—some larger than others—that have kept it from moving forward smoothly.

The latest? Whether the rule should apply to commercial and public buildings in addition to residential dwellings. EPA is looking at this question as part of a settlement agreement (more…)

Posted by Tamela Adamson-McMullen

Enforcement of a rule affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of contractors has been delayed until October to make sure they have time to comply.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has pushed off enforcement of the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP), which went into effect April 22 of this year, until Oct. 1. The rule requires contractors to be trained and certified in lead-safe practices if they do work that might disturb painted surfaces in homes, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978.

The agency issued the RRP ruling in April 2008 to try to curb the problem of childhood lead poisoning.  Despite nearly 30 years of effort, education and (more…)

Posted by Diane Capuano

In less than 30 days, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring that contractors be lead-certified goes into effect.  The rule requires that contractors be certified in lead-safe work practices by EPA-accredited trainers when doing renovation work in pre-1978 homes or in child-occupied facilities where there is the possibility of lead exposure. Firms doing the renovation must have one or more certified individuals doing the work or face penalties including fines as high as $32,500 and/or face possible imprisonment.

The effective date for the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) program rule is April 22, 2010. The exception is contractors and training providers working in (more…)