![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511072908im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
EPA Region 4 Lead Based Paint Program
Links
- EPA Region 4 Certified Firms (PDF, 30K, 8 pages, info about PDF)
- Accredited Training Providers (PDF, 9K, 2 pages, info about PDF)
- U.S. HUD Lead Page
- U.S. CDC Lead Page
Many houses built before 1978 contain lead. Protect your child from harmful lead found in paint, dust, and soil around the home.
Lead poisoning is one of the most serious environmental health hazards to children, particularly for children under the age of six. Elevated blood lead levels can impair a young child's mental and physical development. Adults exposed to high levels of lead, usually in the workplace, are also at risk.
Homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. If it is in poor condition, it may pose a hazard if paint chips or lead-contaminated dust or soil is inhaled or ingested.
EPA and other state, federal, and local agencies are working to protect children from exposure to lead-based paint. EPA seeks to reduce and, ultimately, to prevent lead poisoning through outreach and education, along with compliance assistance and enforcement of Federal lead laws.
EPA and Lead Poisoning in Children
To combat childhood lead poisoning, the EPA requires landlords and property owners to give renters and buyers of houses built before 1978 a pamphlet titled Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home. Landlords and sellers must also inform renters and buyers if there is known lead-based paint in the home. Buyers also have the option to have the property inspected by a certified lead-hazards firm at their own expense. Information, including rules and regulations on certified lead inspectors and risk assessors, can be obtained by checking EPA's Lead web page, or by contacting the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (TDD: 1-800-526-5456).
Download and print this pamphlet.
Are you
leasing or selling housing built before 1978?
The Residential
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule/Section 1018 requires
sellers and landlords of most housing built before 1978 to
disclose to potential buyers and renters any knowledge of
lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing
and provide a pamphlet titled “Protect Your Family From
Lead In Your Home”. Potential buyers must be given a
10-day opportunity to conduct a risk assessment or inspection.
Sellers and landlords are required to keep specific disclosure
documentation.
Are you renovating housing built before 1978?
Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP)
On March 31, 2008, EPA issued a new rule aimed at protecting children from lead-based paint hazards (79 pp, 847K). The rule requires contractors and construction professionals that work in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities to follow lead-safe work practice standards to reduce potential exposure to dangerous levels of lead for children in places they frequent. View the effective dates of the rule.
If you would like to learn more about the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP), please click on RRP .
Pre-Renovation Education Rule
The Pre-Renovation Education Rule/Section 406(b) requires renovators of most housing built before 1978 working for compensation to provide the owner and occupant of the housing a pamphlet titled “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home” before beginning the renovation. If the owner does not live in the housing, the occupant must be provided information regarding the nature and timing of the renovation. The renovator is required to keep specific notification documentation.
Do you conduct lead-based paint abatement, inspections
or risk assessments in housing or child-occupied facilities
built before 1978 or do you provide lead-based paint training?
The Lead-Based
Paint Training and Certification Rule/Section402 requires
individuals and firms conducting lead-based paint activities
in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978
to be certified and follow certain work practice standards.
Training programs must be accredited to provide or offer to
provide lead-based paint activities courses.
Region 4 regulates the Lead-Based Paint Training and Certification
Rule in the States of Florida and South Carolina and all Tribal
Lands in the Region. The states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, and Tennessee
operate lead programs in lieu of EPA. Click on the states
to learn about their lead programs.
For more information about the Region 4 Lead-based Paint program, contact Liz Wilde at 404-562-8998.
For pamphlets, applications or other materials please contact the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) at 1(800) 424-LEAD (5323).
Sources of Lead Poisoning
Lead-based paint and lead dust are the major sources of lead poisoning in children. More children are poisoned by exposure to lead dust from lead-based paint in older homes than by any other source. This exposure is usually through normal hand-to-mouth contact. In some areas, soils have been contaminated by exterior lead-based paint chips and dust, and by automobile exhaust from leaded gasoline. Drinking water can also contain lead from older pipes or solder and contribute to childhood lead poisoning when the water is ingested directly or used to mix beverages. Other common sources of lead are: vinyl mini-blinds, lead-glazed pottery, home remedies (e.g., Azarcon and Greta are almost 100 percent lead), and furniture and toys painted with lead-based paint. Parents who work in lead related industries such as the lead abatement industry, home renovators, antique furniture refinishers and battery recyclers, can also bring lead home on their clothes, exposing children to the hazard.
Here's What You Can Do to Identify and Reduce Lead Exposures:
- Have your child's blood tested for lead either with your private MD or local health department.
- Contact a certified risk assessor - especially if your home was built before 1978 - to identify any lead present in your home and evaluate its risks to you and your family.
- Use state or EPA certified professionals to remove lead-based paint in your home.
- Maintain a dry home if you know or suspect lead paint may be present in your home. (Moisture problems can cause paint failure. Well maintained paint usually does not pose risks.)
- Keep floors, window sills and other painted surfaces clean and dust free.
- Clean carpets and rugs well. Using a HEPA vacuum will help reduce potentially hazardous dust when you vacuum.
- Avoid ingesting foods and beverages stored in leaded crystal and lead-glazed pottery.
- Eat a well balanced diet. A child that has enough iron and calcium will absorb less lead.
- Run your tap for one minute if the water has not been used for six hours or more and first thing in the morning to clear the pipes and reduce the risk of contamination.
For information about the contents of this page please contact Andrea Lippitt