Construction Hazardous Materials Compliance Guide: Lead Detection, Abatement and Inspection Procedures

Index

1

Lead Basics

Lead is common in older homes and buildings. Any building constructed before 1980 is a likely suspect for containing lead, since lead paint was used for many years before its health risks were fully understood. If young children eat flaking paint—a common problem—that contains lead, the health repercussions can be very serious. Structures with lead-based paint include schools, multifamily housing, single-family homes, and so on. Unfortunately, control, containment, and abatement can be extremely expensive.

Contractors who are bidding renovation and remodeling work must be particularly concerned with the risk of lead paint existing in a structure. Fairly simple tests can be conducted to indentify the presence of lead. This is always a good investment for any contractor before a firm price for a job is committed to.

Government regulations and housing regulations pertaining to lead are strict. Failure to comply with the rules and regulations can result in lawsuits and fines. Basically, contractors cannot afford to take a chance that lead is present when they are remodeling or renovating buildings. See Box 1.1 for some facts about lead.

Box 1.1 Facts about Lead

FACT: Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born.

FACT: Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.

FACT: You can get lead in your body by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead.

FACT: You have many options for reducing lead hazards. In most cases, lead-based paint that is in good condition is not a hazard.

FACT: Removing lead-based paint improperly can increase the danger to your family.

Health effects of lead

Childhood lead poisoning is a major environmental health problem in the United States. See Box 1.2 for an explanation of why children are at higher risk. Everyone can get lead in their bodies if they do any of the following:

• Put their hands or other objects covered with lead dust in their mouths

• Eat paint chips or soil that contains lead

• Breathe in lead dust, especially during renovations that disturb painted surfaces

Box 1.2 Reasons Why Lead Is More Dangerous to Children

• Babies and young children often put their hands and other objects in their mouths; such objects can have lead dust on them.

• Children’s growing bodies absorb more lead.

• Children’s brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.

• Developing nervous systems can be affected adversely at blood-lead levels of less than 10 μg/dL.

The danger is highest for children and the effects on them usually occur at lower blood-lead levels than for adults. For examples of the effects that lead can have on adults, see Box 1.3.

Box 1.3 Adults and Lead

• Reproductive problems (in both men and women)

• High blood pressure and hypertension

• Nerve disorders

• Memory and concentration problems

• Muscle and joint pain

Children who have high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from:

• Damage to the brain and nervous system

• Behavior and learning problems, such as hyperactivity

• Slowed growth

• Hearing problems

• Headaches

Lead remediation

Beginning April 22, 2010, federal law requires that contractors performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb more than six square feet of paint in homes, childcare facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and trained to follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. Contractors working with lead are required to be in a lead-safe certified company. Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains lead (called lead-based paint). Lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly.

Federal law requires that individuals receive certain information before renting or buying pre-1978 housing. Landlords must disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect. Leases must include a disclosure form about lead-based paint. Property sellers must disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before selling a house. Sales contracts must include a disclosure form about lead-based paint. Buyers have up to 10 days to check for lead hazards.

Lead is a big concern that contractors need to be aware of. The risk of taking lead containment lightly can be extremely expensive for contractors. Imagine the following scenario.

You have just signed a contract to paint a large, two-story house that was built in 1974. The existing paint is peeling and flaking on the siding and the interior paint work is extensive. Being a competitive contractor, you kept your bid as low as possible. Your profit margin is modest, but a profit is a profit.

The homeowner is having the house painted to help sell the house. Your crew arrives and starts sanding the exterior siding and filling cracks in the weathered wood. A different crew is prepping the interior walls, ceilings, and trim for new paint. Your crews are busy working when a home inspector arrives on the site. The homeowners called the inspector in to get advice on a hairline crack in the building’s foundation. It isn’t long before your phone is ringing with a panicked homeowner on the other end of the phone.

It seems that the inspector noticed the repair work your crews were doing and became concerned. As a trained, experienced inspector, he knew the house was likely to contain lead-based paint. He decides a risk assessment is in order. (See Table 1.1 for an example of available statistics for a risk assessment.) The inspector told the homeowners about his concern for the family, which included two young children, your crews, and neighboring houses that could be affected from blowing dust as the exterior siding was being sanded down to remove the existing paint.

Table 1.1 Percentage of Paint that Is Lead-Based for Use in Risk Assessment

Source: HUD 1990b. These data are from a limited national survey and may not reflect the presence of lead in paint in a given dwelling or jurisdiction.

¹ Includes metal trim, window sills, molding, air/heat vents, radiators, soffit and fascia, columns, and railings

² Includes nonmetal trim, window sills, molding, doors, air/heat vents, soffit and fascia, columns, and railings

³ Includes shelves, cabinets, fireplace, and closets of both metal and nonmetal

⁴ Includes porches, balconies, and stairs of both metal and nonmetal

The homeowner requested a lead test from the inspector and called you to stop the work until test results were available. This is terrible news for you. It disrupts your production schedule and could put you on the hook for legal problems and state and government fines. As a result, you stop your crews and start to look into the requirements of working with lead paint. You should have done this long before you put a bid on the job, but you didn’t.

After going nuts worrying about the test results, you get the phone call that confirms the worst possible outcome. The paint inside and out is lead paint. You have already created several violations of lead regulations and the homeowners are speaking with an attorney.

See how bad this could get? You need to know the facts about lead if there is any chance you will be working with it.

Where Lead Is Found

In general, the older a building the more likely it has lead-based paint. This is the type of lead that affects most contractors. But, lead can also be found in drinking water, soil, old toys, old furniture, some pottery that has been painted with lead paint, and even in some routine job situations. All of these are a potential concern, but contractors need to be the most concerned about lead paint.

The federal government banned lead-based paint from housing in 1978, though some states stopped its use even earlier. Lead can be found in homes in the city, country, or suburbs. It can be in apartments, single-family homes, and both private and public housing, in exterior and interior paintwork.

Lead can also be found in soil. It can come from the soil around a home or other building (though few contractors are affected by this) where it is picked up from exterior paint or from other sources such as past use of leaded gas in cars. Children playing in yards can ingest or inhale lead dust.

Even household dust can contain lead. The dust can pick up lead from deteriorating lead-based paint or from soil tracked into a home. The drinking water for a building could contain lead. A potential reason for this is the use of lead plumbing joints and lead-based solder. Today’s plumbers must use lead-free solder, but that was not the case for many years.

A phone call to your local health department or water supplier can direct you to a testing source for lead content. You cannot see, smell, or taste lead, and boiling your water will not get rid of lead.

Buildings served by a water source that may contain lead should be tested. In the meantime, people under these conditions should do the following:

• Use only cold water for drinking and cooking.

• Run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if the water has not been used for a few hours.

It is important for those working with lead to shower and change clothes before going home or to another location because it can be brought with you on hands or clothes. Work clothes should be laundered separately from the rest of the family’s clothes.

Where Lead Is Likely to Be a Hazard

Lead from paint chips, which you can see, and lead dust, which you can’t always see, can be serious hazards. Lead-based paint that is in good shape and has not been disturbed poses less of a problem. However, there is always a risk that the lead paint will be disturbed, especially by children chewing on it. Another major risk is the remodeling or renovation of a building. Hazards are highest under the following conditions:

• Peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking lead-based paint is a hazard and needs immediate attention.

• Lead-based paint may also be a hazard when found on surfaces that children can chew or that get a lot of wear and tear.

These areas include:

– Windows and window sills

– Doors and door frames

– Stairs, railings, and banisters

– Porches and fences

Lead dust can form when lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated. Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together. Lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. See Figures 1.1 and 1.2 for examples of likely areas for lead paint to be found. Settled lead dust can reenter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it. Buildings that use duct work to distribute air conditioning and heat can also spread lead dust.

Figure 1.1 Window parts where lead paint may be found.

Figure 1.2 Door sections where lead paint may be found.

Lead in soil can be a hazard when children play in bare soil or when people bring soil into the house on their shoes. The National Lead Information Center (NLIC) is a good resource for finding out how to test soil for lead.

How to detect lead

Just knowing that a building has lead-based paint may not indicate the level of hazard. You can check buildings for lead content in a couple of ways. A paint inspection can reveal the lead content of every different type of painted surface in a building. However, it won’t tell you whether the paint is a hazard or how you should deal with it. A risk assessment will determine if there are any sources of serious lead exposure (such as peeling paint and lead dust). It will also tell you what actions to take to address these hazards.

It’s wise to have qualified professionals do the work if lead risks must be addressed. There are standards in place for certifying lead-based paint professionals to ensure the work is done safely, reliably, and effectively. The National Lead Information Center (NLIC) compiles a list of contacts by area.

Trained professionals use a range of methods when checking a building for lead. Some of these methods include:

• Visual inspection of paint condition and location

• A portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) machine

• Lab tests of paint samples

• Surface dust tests

Amateur test kits for lead are available, but studies suggest they are not always accurate. These tests should not be relied on before doing renovations or to assure safety. It’s wise, and a good investment, to have a professional conduct the testing with specialized equipment.

Contractors may not want to pay for testing before they have secured a job, but there is a workaround. They can make their bid based on the assumption that no negative environmental test results will be determined once the job is awarded and before the work is started. The bid can be worded to allow for an increase in the bid price if professional testing determines that additional work is needed to deal with environmental risks.

What to Do to Protect Occupants While Awaiting Professional Help

There are times when lead contamination is expected or confirmed. Due to scheduling requirements, however, the occupants of a building may have to live with the risk for a while until the contractors can perform their services. If you have a customer with such a situation, there are a few things that can be done to minimize the effects of lead for a short period of time, including the items listed in Box 1.4. Figure 1.3 contains information about the toxicological effects of lead on both children and adults.

Box 1.4 Steps to Take to Minimize Lead’s Effects

• If you suspect that your house has lead hazards, take the following immediate steps to reduce your family’s risk:

– If you rent, notify your landlord of peeling or chipping paint.

– Clean up paint chips immediately.

– Clean floors, window frames, window sills, and other surfaces weekly. Use a mop, sponge, or paper towel with warm water and a general all-purpose cleaner or a cleaner made specifically for lead. Never mix ammonia with bleach products. Doing this can result in a very dangerous gas.

– Thoroughly rinse sponges and mop heads after cleaning dirty or dusty areas.

– Wash children’s hands often, especially before they eat and before nap time and bed time.

– Keep play areas clean. Wash bottles, pacifiers, toys, and stuffed animals regularly.

– Keep children from chewing window sills or other painted surfaces.

– Clean or remove shoes before entering your home to avoid tracking in lead from soil.

– Make sure children eat healthy and nutritious meals as recommended by the National Dietary Guidelines. Children with good diets absorb less lead.

• Additional steps:

– You can temporarily reduce lead hazards by taking actions such as repairing damaged painted surfaces and planting grass to cover soil with high lead levels. These actions are not permanent solutions and will need ongoing attention.

– To permanently remove lead hazards, you must hire a certified lead abatement contractor. Abatement (or permanent hazard elimination) methods include removing, sealing, or enclosing lead-based paint with special materials. Just painting over the hazard with regular paint is not enough.

– Always hire a person with special training for correcting lead problems. You need someone who knows how to do this work safely and has the proper equipment to clean up thoroughly. Certified contractors will employ qualified workers and follow strict safety rules set by their state or the federal government.

– Contact the NLIC for help with locating certified contractors in your area and to see if financial assistance is available.

Figure 1.3 Toxicological effects of lead on children and adults.

Learn the regulations, rules, and laws

It is important to learn the regulations, rules, and laws pertaining to working with lead. There is plenty to learn. As a lead contractor, your work will fall under the regulation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and your state’s rules and regulations. Compliance with all of these is necessary.

As we explore working with lead in the following pages, you will become familiar with the types of rulings to expect as a lead contractor.

2

Lead Testing

The determination of lead by rapid methods has become a major concern in recent years since it is apparent that lead poisoning is still occurring when workers remove or otherwise disturb old lead-containing paint in the course of their work. Serious cases of lead poisoning continue to occur in children exposed to old flaking lead-containing paint or lead-contaminated soil. Abatement projects have become a major activity in recent years to remove lead-containing paint and other materials to reduce lead exposure to workers and the general public.

The term lead-based paint (LBP) has been defined in the Lead Exposure Reduction Act (October 29, 1992) as paint or other surface coatings that contain lead in excess of 1.0 milligram per centimeter squared or 0.5% by weight (Sections 10.7, 10.8). In the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Interim Guidelines (September 1990, revised May 1991, Section 10.9), the action level for LBP is a lead content of 1.0 mg/cm² as measured by an XRF analyzer. When using chemical testing, the action level is either 0.5% by weight or 1.0 mg/cm². Lead-free paint, on the other hand, is usually considered to be any dried coating containing no more than 0.06% (600 ppm) lead, essentially indicating no lead is added at any point in the manufacturing process.

OSHA currently does not stipulate a specific amount of surface lead that is not to be exceeded. The OSHA CSHO examines the industrial operation or situation for potential occupational exposure to lead as a surface contaminant, and evaluates protective measures to minimize exposures. Although OSHA does not have a numeric trigger for lead as a surface contaminant, concentrations in air are strictly regulated in occupational settings. For the purposes of this evaluation, the HUD guideline value of 0.5% by weight will be used as the trigger for evaluating lead test kit performance.

The HUD Interim Guidelines on Worker Protection includes discussions on worker training, enclosures, personal protective equipment, work practices, and personal hygiene. The guidelines are intended to provide, at a minimum, the level of protection of OSHA’s General Industry Lead Standard. Both OSHA’s General Industry and lead-in-construction regulations stipulate identification of potential exposure to lead and good housekeeping practices to minimize surface