New Lead Paint Regulations: Do They Go Too Far?

Is a new lead safety law for professional renovators too much government? Or just enough?

The new law, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), goes into effect April 22, 2010. It requires workers to take extra precautions when handling lead-based paint during renovations on houses, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978. The new measures include testing for lead with swabs, sealing off the area inside with plastic sheeting, masks and other protective gear for workers, proper clean-up and proper disposal of the lead-based paint.

So what's wrong with playing it safe? One of the chief complaints is that all these extra precautions could force contractors to drive up the price of home renovations in houses built before 1978. Some detractors say the new standards place too big a burden on professional renovators. If your home was build before 1978, and the contractors you hire don't have the proper certifications, or have not trained their workers, they will not be legally allowed to do the work.

But the process of certifying hundreds of thousands of contractors -- which requires attending an 8-hour class and passing a written test -- and training their workers takes time, and it's lagging far behind. Some contractors critical of the new rules say they will not comply and will simply stop working on older homes, which are more likely to contain lead paint.

Those contractors who do choose to work in older homes will have to charge a lot more for the extra training, certification, materials, and steps involved in testing for lead paint. And that's homeowners' chief criticism of the new regulations: they'll inevitably drive up the costs of home improvement.

Other critics say it's a case of big government going overboard.
And it's not just small contractors who object. The National Association of Home Builders has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to delay the requirements until the certification program gets spiffed up. Their complaints include a lack of qualified trainers and inaccurate test kits for lead paint.

And on March 31, U.S. Senate Minority Leader John Boehner sent a letter to EPA head Lisa Jackson asking her to "consider revisiting" the law until benefits are proven to outweigh the costs.

Of course, not everyone is opposed to the new regulations. Supporters of the new law hail the protection it gives to both professional renovation workers and the occupants of the homes and facilities under renovation. According to the EPA, which mandated the protections, "Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk."

The protections could also affect children of renovation workers who could carry lead-contaminated dust home on their clothing, skin and hair.

Before the health dangers of lead were known, lead was used to strengthen many products, including paints. Lead in paint was outlawed in 1978, thus houses built after that are generally considered lead-free, at least in terms of paint

The dried paint itself is not hazardous unless it is disturbed by renovation work, and can be ingested through breathing (in dust form) or orally (kids have a tendency to put small objects like paint chips into their mouths).

If you do your own renovations, this new law does not apply to you. However, the dangers of disturbed lead paint to children are well-documented. Homeowners would be wise to follow safety precautions when sanding, cutting into or otherwise disturbing paint that was applied prior to 1978.

Read more about the new law, which is being referred to as RRP for Renovation, Repair and Painting.

VIA: DIYlife