Tue 02|09|10

EPA HAS NEW RULES THAT WILL AFFECT YOU

Submitted by Monte Smith on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 12:15am.

Late last week I stopped in at Home Depot to purchase some materials for a job I'm doing. As I was leaving one of the ladies who works there called me over and handed me a flyer. She told me that it had been left by someone from the city for them to hand out to contractors and trades people. When I got to my van I took a moment to read the flyer and the more I read the more angry I became. Following is, word for word, what was written on the flyer:

Note: All the print on the flyer was bold and further emphasis was added by using larger fonts, caps and underlines. Also, all text was centered on the page. As I am limited to only one font size in this blog I will use a combination of Blue, Bold, Italics and CAPS in an attempt to approximate what was emphasized on the flyer.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CONTRACTORS, AND ALL TRADES PEOPLE

The EPA has new rules that will affect you and your business, if you do any type of renovation/remodeling on pre 1978 homes.

After April 22, 2010 firms, or trades working in TARGET HOUSING = Pre 1978 homes, or in child-occupied facilities

MUST BE CERTIFIED and use Lead Safe Work Practices during renovations.

On or after April 22, 2010: NO FIRM OR TRADE WORKING IN TARGET HOUSING WHERE LEAD BASED PAINT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE WORK, MAY PERFORM, OFFER, OR CLAIM TO PERFORM RENOVATIONS WITHOUT FIRM AND/OR INDIVIDUAL CERTIFICATION

The EPA has the authority to seek CIVIL FINES for each violation up to $32,500.00 (ignorance of the rule will not be considered)

And an additional CRIMINAL FINE UP TO $32,500.00 plus JAIL TIME for knowing and willful violations of the new Renovation, Remodel & Painting (RRP) Rule.

EPA FY 2010 BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR ENFORCEMENT TO BE 600 MILLION DOLLARS THE LARGEST INCREASE IN HISTORY

THERE ARE NO LOCAL CERTIFIED TRAINING PROVIDERS AT THIS TIME.

The City of Fort Smith, Community Development Department is trying to help you by hosting an RRP training event here in Fort Smith (Each day will be a new 8 hour class) the classes will be held the Tuesday through Friday January 26-29 and possibly Saturday the 30th 2010 if response makes it necessary.

Course fee: $225.00

The new EPA Rules have also limited the number of participants in a classroom to a maximum of 16, so we are only going to be able to provide training for the first 64 - 79 pre-paid registrants.

Classes are already beginning to fill up!

If you are interested in attending please contact: Candyce Waters at 784-2209 or visit at 623 Garrison Ave, room 331 Fort Smith, AR.

The City of Fort Smith, Arkansas

............................................

Okay. That's the flyer's text, word for word, as it was handed to me by a Home Depot employee last Thursday. I have since shown the flyer to three other trades people and each has had the same knee-jerk reaction as I intially demonstrated. Receiving this communcation was tantamount to being blind-sided. There has been no heads-up given regarding this new EPA certification requirement for lead safe work practices. And, there has been no discussion or attempt to enlighten the targeted public i.e., contractors and trades people as to the particulars of this, obviously, VERY IMPORTANT issue. The flyer and its message, appearing out of the blue, was a sudden non sequitur message that was communicated with the obvious intent to strike fear into the hearts of those who read it. In other words, using fear with the threat of force (BIG heavy fines and jail time) in order to get compliance. Forget using Public Relations, "Just tell them all to do this or else!"

Obviously, this certification program is not something that the city of Fort Smith has originated. This is coming from the EPA and it is being pushed down to the states and cities. And, it appears that enforcement of the RRP Rule is going to be the burden of local officals. Although, there is this matter of the EPA's 2010 budget proposal for enforcement of $600 million dollars (per the flyer - largest increase in history). So, I wonder...what does that mean exactly? How's that going to roll out exactly? In any case, I do not think that the EPA composed this flyer. I would guess that each city has to come up with how its going to handle this issue and distributing this alarming flyer is the approach that the city of Fort Smith has decided to go with.

After my emotional reaction had dissipated, I went back to the flyer and as I reread it questions and thoughts came to mind.

1. Exactly how bad is the lead poisoning problem? Is it pandemic? The problem must have really escalated in order to instigate such a broad based certification program.

Note: I am aware that lead poisoning is a problem. In the early 80s I did research work indirectly for a lobbyist that was an advocate for a group of people in Portland, Or. that were the victims of lead poisoning. This group was working to get the building codes changed in the state so that the use of lead solder would no longer be allowed in plumbing. This particular group was foucused on this apsect because their lead posioning was attributed to drinking water that was flowing through lead pipes. Of course it was code to remove and replace all lead water pipes when discovered.

2. If lead poisoning has gained such magnitude as a problem, then why isn't there more attention and funding being put on educating the public at large so we all have a conceptual understanding of all the particulars of this problem? Why, instead, is the attention and money being put on enforcement? I mean, it seems to me, that with this $600 million for enforcement, a small percentage of that amount could be used to fund the production of high quality educational/instructional DVDs. And the DVDs could be distributed through any business even remotely connected to the building industry (or downloaded from the internet) and made available for a nominal fee or even for free. Also, DVDs could be tailor-made for students of different age groups and shown in schools.

Wouldn't it make more sense to bring everyone up to a point where they really understood the lead poisoning problem and understood what had to be done to handle it? And because everyone had the same facts and understood the problem they were in agreement with one another on what needed to be done and they were willing to cooperate with one another to accomplish the objective.

3. Why couldn't the certification classes be offered on the internet?

4. Why do the EPA Rules limit the number of participants to a maximum of 16 in a classroom?

5. What impact is the implementation of the lead safe work practices going to have on the costs of renovation/remodeling?

6. Is this program really just a way for the current administration to create more jobs?

7. If a home owner remodels his/her house that was built pre 1978 do they have to be certified too?

8. If a property owner works on his/her own rental properties, do they also have to be certified?

9. Why isn't this flyer being handed out at either of the FS Yeagers or Kolor Key or PPG (Pittsburg paints)? (Haven't been to Lowes since this started)

Well, I'll leave it at that for now. My next step is to see what I can dig up on the internet to answer the questions I've posed. Once I've found something out I'll assemble and present that information in my next blog. But, you certainly don't have to wait for me. Indeed, I think that the more of us that are researching this issue the better.

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Lead on Youtube - 3 links

Submitted by Monte Smith on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 7:40am.

EPA's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBQaeVTasvE

Contractor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpeL5Qtb_oU

Doctor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jaTf-ZgqtA

Of course, as you might expect, there are numerous more videos about lead on youtube than these three. I just picked these three for their different perspectives.

definition of the lead problem

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/07/2009 - 5:48am.

I agree that there has been very little communication from the agencies to the public regarding the state of the problem. Pandemic is probably a good way to describe it.
See www.urbanleadpoisoning.com to gain an understanding of the problem.....at least one persons viewpoint.

Cheers!

Mark

More about EPA's RRP Rule

Submitted by Monte Smith on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 7:29am.

Following are several excerpts from the Home Safe Training website. http://www.homesafetraining.com/rrp.html

A new Federal regulation called the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule (RRP) will go into effect on April 22, 2010. It requires all kinds of contractors who work in pre-1978 housing and who might disturb painted surfaces to become Lead Certified Renovators by taking a one-day course about using "Lead Safe Work Practices" on the job.

Since then-Senator Obama was one of those behind the original legislation, EPA enforcement is expected to be well funded. A summary of the RRP Rule follows.

......................

Lead causes a long list of problems, including learning and behavioral problems, kidney disease, high blood pressure, miscarriage and birth defects. Lead can even cause depression and aggressive behavior. The problems caused by lead, even very tiny amounts of it, would fill an encyclopedia. Lead doubles the number of children in special education classes and is thought to play a major role in our crime rate. There is no safe level of lead in the body. Any is bad for you.

.....................

The rule applies to jobs in pre-1978 housing (i.e. "Target Housing") and child occupied facilities and where more than 6 square feet per room or 20 square feet outside will be disturbed by someone who is being compensated for their work.

The RRP rule covers millions of jobs: renovation, remodeling, painting, window replacement, plumbing, electrical work, heating and air-conditioning, demolition, plus jobs performed by many other trades like carpenters, electricians and handymen. The rule applies to the people who work for rental property owners, schools, and day care providers. It also applies to non-profits and governmental agencies.

....................

Individual Certification - At least one RRP Certified Renovator is required at each job site. Certification involves taking a 1-day class from an EPA Accredited Training Provider.

Firm Certification - In addition to individual certification, each firm, agency or non-profit must also become RRP certified. To do so, firms or entities must submit an application and pay EPA a fee ($300) which is good for 5 years. The EPA Firm Certification Form can be downloaded from the EPA web site. Firms may apply to on or after October 22, 2009.

.....................

After April 22, 2010, "... no firm working in target housing or child-occupied facilities, where lead-based paint will be affected by the work, may perform, offer or claim to perform renovations without EPA Firm Certification." Firm certification is not the same as the personal certification attained by successful completion of an RRP course.

Lead dust from lead-based paints

Submitted by Monte Smith on Thu, 11/05/2009 - 8:29am.

Below is an excerpt from an article I found on the web that addresses lead paint dust. After reading it I am still left wondering as to why, considering I grew up in, went to school in and have worked in buildings that were built pre 1978, not to mention that I have been doing renovation, repair and remodel work for almost 40 years, why is it that I do not personally know anyone or have never met anyone with lead poisoning? How about you? How old was the house(s) you grew up in? How old were the school buildings where you attended school? How many people do you personally know that have lead poisoning?

Excerpt from an article on the web: Lead Dust from Lead-Based Paint

" 'I see kids every day who have lead poisoning from breathing lead paint dust. Some of them are on Ritalin, when the real solution would be to treat the lead problem'. So we were told by a gentleman in St. Louis, MO who is quite familiar with lead paint problems in older homes.

"Lead paint can be a real danger to both children and adults living in houses built before 1978. Contrary to what most people think, a toddler doesn't have to eat paint chips to get lead poisoning. Microscopic dust can be created by merely raising and lowering a window painted with lead paint. The friction between the painted window sash (the part that goes up and down) and the painted window frame grinds the paint and generates toxic lead-containing dust.

"Buy or sell a house, and you'll see that lead is a big problem. The multiple lead disclosure statements and forms for both buyer and seller are not just a lot of government 'bureaucratic red tape', but were created to address a real problem.

In adults, who are no longer growing, the lead eventually is removed by the body. But in children, their growing bodies grab onto any lead they ingest, and it builds up. Adults will absorb 10 percent of the lead they eat; children absorb up to 50 percent. Children also more readily absorb what they breathe. Their developing nervous system is especially vulnerable. Though the symptoms of low-level lead poisoning in children include clumsiness, stomach aches, refusal to play, irritability, fatigue and loss of appetite, these are often ignored by parents and the condition can worsen.

"Dr. Herbert Needleman performed an analysis of lead levels of baby teeth of 2,146 normal schoolchildren aged 5 to 6. He then had each child's behavior rated by the teacher. The results: more lead related to worse behavior! Similar findings were made in several other countries.

"Lead poisoning can be treated with chelation. But it is somewhat painful, and it takes other, beneficial heavy minerals out of the body along with the harmful lead."

http://www.negativeiongenerators.com/leadpaintdust.html

Some Answers

Submitted by patmac on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 1:24pm.

You raise some valid concerns and questions. However, this rule is very important to protecting children and worker's health. Although the implementation of it has not been as smooth as it should have been, there is still time to get trained.

1. How bad is the problem? A: While the number of children of children with official "lead poisoning" has declined, research continues to show lower and lower levels harm children. So the actual number of children impacted is quite a bit higher than the official gov't numbers would say. Also you need to recognize that Congress told EPA to write this rule in 1992, with instructions to implement it by 1996. It just took EPA until 2008 to get their act together to release the rule, which will go into effect on April 22nd, 2010. Lead exposure from Renovation has been known to be a problem for a number of years - it just hasn't been addressed the way it was supposed to be for a long time. In some localities a third to half of "official" lead poisoning cases are associated with renovation.

2. Why enforcement instead of education? A. First of all, the $600 million is agency wide enforcement, not specific to this rule. There is no specific amount earmarked to this. While there is certainly is a need for education, and we should increase investments in it, education alone rarely changes how people work. Lead poisoning is not a problem of negligent parents allowing children to eat paint chips. It’s a problem of leaded dust collecting on floors and other surfaces in the home. Studies have proven no amount of cleaning or parental monitoring can prevent children from being exposed to leaded dust. We need to address the underlying problem. This rule seeks to prevent contractors from making a mess when they work. Saying that contractors will all work safely if we provide them with a DVD is akin to saying all drivers will follow the speed limit and not drive drunk if we just send them DVDs on the dangers of speeding and drunk driving instead of paying police.

3. Why not Internet training? A: EPA believes that contractors need to have some hands-on experience in how to use safe work practices. Reasonable folks could debate this, but most contractors I’ve worked with are pretty visual and seem to get a fair amount out of actually trying something rather than just reading about it. EPA is allowing training providers to offer the lecture portion of the class online, and have student report to a training facility just for hands-on and the exam, so it only takes up a half day instead of a full day. See http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/elearningimplementation.pdf

4. Why does EPA limit classes to 16? A. They don't. EPA recommends no more than 25 students to a class, with a student:teacher ratio of 1:6 for the hands-on part of the class. See page 8 of http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/trainapp.pdf . Training providers can justify higher numbers to EPA, and some have. Bottom line is EPA is trying to make sure students actually learn something and have interaction with students.

5. Impact on costs? A. EPA did an economic analysis with all sorts of figures you can look at if you really want to pick it apart. Bottom line was about a 1% increase in costs to renovation companies. At first it will probably be more. In the long run it will come down as contractors learn what to do and get good at doing it.

6. Is this a job creation program by "this administration?" A. Rule was written and published under the Bush Administration on April 22nd, 2008. Job creation was not part of the picture back then.

7. Does an owner in his or her own home have to follow the rule? A. No. Congress told EPA to regulate work done for hire. You are allowed to poison yourself and your children in your own home. This is discussed in the rule and at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm#homeowners

8. Does a property owner have to follow the rule in rental properties? A. Yes. The rent you receive is a form of compensation, and since you are compensated for this, you have to follow the rule. Discussed at detail in the pre-amble to the published rule and confirmed here: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm#owners

9. Why isn't this information handed out elsewhere? A. I can't help you with that one. In a broad sense, though, there is much work necessary to get the word out.

Hope that helps you a bit.

LEAD - a heavy subject

Submitted by Monte Smith on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 11:27pm.

Pacmac, I see that you are a very new member to TCW. Welcome to the mix.

I appreciate your taking the time to so thoroughly address each of the questions that I posed and the links that you included were most helpful.

One thing is for certain, the EPA's mew Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule) is a rapidly approaching reality. And no amount of discussion or analysis is going to do anything to change what is coming. However, more discussion and more analysis regarding the objective and the process can serve to help to both broaden and facilitate our understanding. Personally, the more I look at this move by the EPA the more questions, in general, that I have and I find myself really unlcear as to what the actual agenda is. The more I look the more layers I see.

Pacmac, you wrote, "...this rule is very important to protecting children and worker's health." In addition, you stated, "While the number of children of children with official 'lead poisoning' has declined, research continues to show lower and lower levels harm children. So the actual number of children impacted is quite a bit higher than the official gov't numbers would say. Lead exposure from Renovation has been known to be a problem for a number of years - it just hasn't been addressed the way it was supposed to be for a long time. In some localities a third to half of 'official' lead poisoning cases are associated with renovation." Now Pacmac, I have nothing to debate with you on what you have mentioned here but what you have mentioned has got me to wondering.

I was born in 1951, my brother was born in 55', my parents were born in the late 20s, my grandparents were born in the early 1900s, I grew up with many people and have lived around thousands more over the years who grew up into adulthood, many into senior citizen status while living in houses and working in buildings that were constructed pre 1978. I am now 58 years old. I grew up on ranches and farms and when I became 20 years old I got my first job in the construction industry, which is the industry that I have worked in and continue to do so to this day. My brother also has worked in construction since his early 20s. So, here is where my "wonder" comes in. I wonder why it is, if lead poisoning has been and is such a problem, why is it that I have never personally known or met anyone who is affected with it? During my many years working in construction probably 99.5% of the work I have done has been residential or commercial rennovation/repair and in the process I have worked with countless other construction workers who were within 10 years age of me one side or the other. You would think that with lead poisoning being such a problem that, especially because I have been working in construction for all of these years, I would have at some point come across someone with lead poisioning. And, to reiterate, so many of us (the baby boomers) grew up in, went to school in and worked in pre 1978 buildings. So one would figure that the baby boomers in general, and their parents and grandparents would be experiencing a pandemic of lead poisoning. However, that is not the case. Yet, in 09' we have this dire problem with children being affected with lead poisoning. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

There is more that you brought up Pacmac that I want to address but I will have to piece meal my responses.

Thank you again for taking your time to answer my queries.

EPA LEAD

Submitted by ET on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 1:54am.

The flyer was probably circulated as part of Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Oct. 18-24. So you were made aware 6 months before the deadline.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/493E34EADC82CB3B85257655004A6...

...the EPA has taken regulatory steps aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the new rule, beginning in April 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.

Until the new regulations take effect, EPA recommends that anyone performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools follow lead-safe work practices. All contractors should follow these three simple procedures: Contain the work area; minimize dust; and cleanup thoroughly.

Currently, owners of residential rental properties built before 1978 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.

Sellers of properties built before 1978 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.