Current lead paint building regulations

Earlier this year, the EPA created new rules governing remodeling and home improvement projects in pre-1978 houses and other buildings. The rules were put in place to protect homeowners, contractors and other occupants from lead paint.

Lead paint was extremely common prior to its banning in 1977. Lead can improve paint’s performance, but was found to cause damage to the nervous system and a number of organs in the body. Even though it has been banned for decades, lead-based paint is still found in over 38 million homes in the US.

The EPA’s new rule, the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, has a few requirements for certain work done on buildings and homes covered by the rule. Here are a few examples of the new regulations:

• Renovators must be certified
• Non-certified workers must be supervised and trained by a certified renovator
• Renovators must post signs clearly showing the work area and warning occupants to avoid the active zone
• Renovators must clean the work area and verify the cleanliness upon completion.

Not every job done on a pre-1978 building needs to go through this process though. If the repairs are minor and disturb less than 6 interior square feet or less than 20 exterior square feet or if the building tests lead free by a certified inspector, the above steps are not needed.

Home and building owners of pre-1978 properties need to make sure they always hire certified contractors who take the proper steps to follow the EPA guidelines.

For more information, read the full list of the EPA’s regulations and information on lead.

(Photo by abbylanes)