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Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making $110 million in grants available to help eliminate lead-based paint from lower-income homes to protect young children from lead poisoning. The grants to states and local governments are being offered through HUD’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control and Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Programs.
IAQA has submitted comments to the U.S. EPA in response to a Federal Register notice on July 7, 2010 regarding the re-opening of the comment period for the proposed rule: “Lead; Clearance and Clearance Testing Requirements for the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program” (otherwise known as the EPA RRP Rule). In the document, EPA proposed several revisions to the 2008 RRP rule. The proposal included additional requirements designed to ensure that lead-based paint hazards generated by renovation work are adequately cleaned after renovation work is finished and before the work areas are re-occupied. Comments were due by August 6. Comments on behalf of IAQA were submitted jointly by Carl Grimes, HHS, CIEC, IAQA President and Home Health Committee Chair; Wei Tang, PhD, IAQA Director and Research Committee Chair; and Wane A. Baker, P.E., CIH, IAQA Government Affairs Committee Chair. To review the proposed rule and IAQA’s comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov and then in the Keyword area type “EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0049-1395.1”.
Environmental News – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Release date: 11/16/2009)
(Kansas City, Kan., Nov. 16, 2009) – A St. Louis area property management company has agreed to pay a $4,527 civil penalty and perform $108,325 worth of lead paint removal work to settle allegations that it failed to inform residents and homeowners of actual and potential lead-based paint hazards in its housing built before 1978.
JAX Limited Company, 55 National way Shopping Center, in Ballwin, Mo., agreed to perform the lead paint removal work as part of a supplemental environmental project to reduce its civil penalty in the case. According to a consent agreement filed today in Kansas City, Kan., JAX Limited Company owns properties at 4917 Winona Avenue, 5542 37th Avenue, 4061 Gravois Avenue and 5543 Grace Avenue, all in St. Louis.
Under the federal Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule, the company was legally required to provide copies of a lead-based paint hazard informational pamphlet to its tenants, and make certain other disclosures, prior to those tenants being obligated by lease agreements. The company was also required by the Lead Pre-Renovation Education Rule to provide the same pamphlet and additional information to tenants prior to certain renovations, repairs and painting projects being performed.
JAX Limited Company’s supplemental environmental project will involve the removal of lead-based paint at 73 of its target housing rental units. High levels of lead in children can cause permanent damage to the brain and nervous system and other widespread health problems, such as reduced intelligence and attention span, hearing loss, stunted growth, reading and learning problems, and behavioral difficulties.
(09/30/2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new campaign to educate contractors about tougher regulations regarding removal of lead paint at job sites. The new rules go into effect in April 2010.
At that time, all firms who disturb lead paint as part of their work in pre-1978 homes, schools, and other buildings must be EPA-certified. All of these jobs must be supervised by a certified renovator who has completed an EPA-accredited one-day training course, and other employees will have to receive specific on-the-job training.
All contractors must be trained and certified by April 2010. Even contractors with previous training and certification must be trained and certified under this new program. In some cases, a shorter “refresher” course may be adequate.
The EPA’s website now lists over 50 accredited trainers at epa.gov/lead/pubs/trainingproviders.htm. Check back often if you do not find one near you today, as the list grows weekly. A number of trainers have been approved to teach at your location, making training even more convenient. Individual certification as a “certified renovator” is automatic upon completion of training, at no additional charge. This certification is valid anywhere in the country. As state and tribal programs become authorized, the Agency will work closely with certified renovators and the authorized state or tribe to ensure a smooth transition.
Both individuals and contracting firms must be certified. Firm certification is straightforward – just complete a short application, and submit it with fee to EPA. The application is now posted at www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/firmapp.pdf. The agency will process applications in the order that they are received.
If you have questions about the RRP rule or the certification process, you can visit EPA’s web site at www.epa.gov/lead or call the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) at 1-800-424-LEAD [5323].
National – Toymaker Mattel Corp. agreed Friday to pay $2.3 million in civil penalties for violating a federal lead paint ban that resulted in the recall of millions of its Barbie, Dora and other popular-branded toys in 2007. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the fine against the No. 1 toymaker and its Fisher-Price pre-school division was the highest ever for the agency’s regulated product violations and the third largest in its history.
Los Angeles, CA – Nearly $100 million in federal stimulus money will go toward a program to remove lead-based paint and other health and safety hazards from low-income homes, Vice President Joe Biden announced Friday. Biden said the program will immediately employ workers to do the lead-abatement work and save millions in future health care costs.
Owners of building with lead-based paint could face stiffer penalties for noncompliance with the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act if lawmakers agree with a state-appointed advisory council’s recommendations. The 26-member Illinois Lead Safe Housing Advisory Council met to put into final form its proposal for new fees.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., put a hold on president Bush’s nominee to a key Environmental Protection Agency post because the agency has failed to meet a promised deadline for issuing regulations for lead paint exposure from house remodeling. He also said he would block all future EPA nominees until the agency issues the rules for contractors engaged in home remodeling. Illinois has the highest rate of childhood lead poisoning in the country.