IT’S THE LAW!
Federal law 40 CFR Part 745 requires individuals have certain information before renovating 6 sq ft or more of painted surfaces in a room for interior project or more that 20 sq ft of painted surfaces for exterior projects in living accommodations, “child-occupied facilities” and schools built before 1978.
A “child-occupied facility” means a building or portion of a structure , built prior to 1978, entered regularly by the same child, under six years old , on at least two different days inside any week (Sunday – Sat. period ), provided that each day’s visit lasts at least 3 hours and the combined weekly visits last at least 6 hours, and the combined annual visits last at least 60 hours.
Child-occupied facilities may include, but are not limited to, day care centers, preschools and kindergarten classrooms. They may be located in target housing or in public or commercial buildings.
22 April 2010 federal law 40 CFR Part 745 will require contractors that interrupt lead-based paint in homes, child-occupied facilities and schools built before 1978 to be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
Any contractor that “Renovates, Repairs or Paints” (RRP) must have at least one person that overseas that job that is a Certified Renovator . This certification must be given by an approved EPA certification provider.
The RRP now overseas and gives all lead safe work practices training to all workers at that job site. The RRP is also creditworthy for set up of the work site, safe practices while working on the job site, examination for lead, debris removal, establishing workers make clean areas, debris removal, record keeping and cleaning verification procedure.
All workers that have exposure to lead , must be certified as in accord with 40 CFR Part 745 and applicable state requirements (Oregon) OR OSHA 1926.62 and (Washington) WAC 296-155-17625. Please note both Oregon and Washington are in process of writing their own new code. At the time of the publication of this manual, they were not in completed or adopted.
WHO MUST FOLLOW THE LAW?
Anyone who is paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978, this may include but is not limited to:
- Residential rental property owners/managers
- General Contractors
- Special Trade Contractors, including
⇒ Painter workers
⇒ Plumbers
⇒ Carpenters
⇒ Electrician workers
WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE SUBJECT TO THE LAW?
Any activity that disrupts paint in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, including:
- Remodeling and repair/maintenance jobs
- Electrical work
- Plumbing
- Painting
- Carpentry work
- Window replacement
WHAT HOUSING AND ACTIVIES ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE LAW?
Exclusions are:
- Housing built in 1978 or later
- Homes for elderly or disabled persons, unless children under 6 reside or are expected to reside there.
- Zero-bedroom dwellings (studio apartments, dormitories, etc.)
- Housing or components declared lead-free by a certified inspector or risk assessor. Test kits must be acceptable to EPA, check the web site www.epa.gov/lead for the most current acceptable kits. At the time of publication of this manual only 1 test was accepted by EPA “Lead Check”. However Lead Check does not work for drywall or gypsum board.
- Minor repair and maintenance activities that disturb 6 square feet or less of paint per room interior, or twenty sq ft or less on the exterior of a house or building.
Note: minor repair and maintenance activities do not include window replacement and projects involving demolition or prohibited practices
