Lead Paint Safety: What You Need to Know
You need to replace the windows on your 50-year-old house. As an informed homeowner, you know that disturbing the paint in an older home may expose your family to lead poisoning, so you search for a knowledgeable contractor.
While interviewing candidates for the project, the last thing a consumer expects to hear is: “It’s just a bunch of B.S., really.”
However, that’s exactly what one contractor told one of our Angie’s List reporters during “secret shopper” calls made to 150 randomly selected painters, remodelers and window contractors in 10 major cities.
Sadly, our staff found that a significant number of those renovation contractors — nearly 11 percent — offered consumers bad advice when it comes to lead safety. But even more disconcerting, nearly 32 percent of those contractors told us they did not have the required EPA lead-safety certification.
With National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week set each year during the last full week in October, we decided to revisit lead-safety practices. The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requires any contractor who disturbs lead paint to become EPA-certified and follow strict protocol to minimize and contain lead dust during improvement projects on homes built before 1978.
Although hardware stores have no legal responsibility to advocate safe work practices under the RRP, we included them in the “secret shopper” calls because homeowners often seek advice from hardware store clerks before tackling a project. Nearly half of the 50 stores we contacted offered unsafe advice.
We also learned that the EPA lead certification isn’t fail-safe.
“There’s a lot of guessing going on out there,” says Ron Peik, owner of Alpine Environmental, a lead-paint remediator in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. “Just the fact somebody has an EPA number and they’re certified doesn’t guarantee you’ll get safe practices in your home.”
Lead paint law awareness grows slowly
Every lead-painted wall contains an invisible poison, easily unleashed by scraping, sanding or melting the surface — common techniques in renovations. Lawmakers banned the substance for residential use in 1978, but contractors working with lead paint operated with very little regulation until the EPA instituted the RRP in 2010.
Federal law requires contractors to follow the RRP if they disturb more than 6 square feet of interior paint or 20 square feet of exterior paint. The basic principle requires them to contain the area completely, allow no debris to escape, and clean up thoroughly when the job is done.
Does your home contain lead paint?
The older your home, the more likely it is to contain lead paint. Watch this animated video to learn more.
Nationwide, about 40 percent of the housing stock remains at risk for lead paint, according to the EPA. That number of at-risk homes may be even higher for Angie’s List member households — 46 percent report that they live in a pre-1978 home. “A lot of people think it’s an inner-city problem, and it’s not,” Peik says. “The outreach is happening, but slowly.”
Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, director of the EPA’s office of pollution prevention and toxics, says more homeowners now seem aware of the dangers if lead-safe work practices aren’t used. But in order to level the playing field for contractors following the law, the EPA needs to do more educational and outreach programs.
“Our certified firms mentioned that they sometimes have to compete with firms underbidding jobs because that firm is uncertified and is willing to work without lead-safe work practices,” she says. “Those firms may be skirting other requirements as well.”
In 2014, Cleland-Hamnett says the EPA stepped up its enforcement efforts against noncompliant firms or individuals. In February 2014, the EPA announced that it fined 35 companies a total of $274,000 for failing to get the required certification, follow lead-safe work practices and/or ensure their subcontractors followed RRP standards. In April 2014, the EPA also socked Lowe’s Home Centers with the largest fine thus far — $500,000 for violations in record keeping and work practice standards. Lowe’s agreed to a corporate-wide compliance program to ensure that contractors it hires to perform work for its customers comply with the RRP rule, the EPA says.
The Lowe’s settlement represents the EPA’s effort to go after high-impact cases that have ripple effects across industries, says Jennifer Colaizzi, a press officer with the EPA. “With Lowe’s insisting on compliance by its contractors, this will benefit families across the country,” she says. Calls to Lowe’s corporate office were not returned before press time.
At Angie’s List, any contractor who performs this type of work and fails to provide proof of EPA certification will be excluded from category and keyword searches on the List and a notice added to the company's profile to alert Angie’s List members.
Need work done on a home with lead paint? Hire a certified contractor
Although the RRP says companies can be fined up to $37,500 per violation, contractors say EPA enforcement continues to be spotty. “Hiring an EPA-certified renovation firm … is the only way to be sure the firm is aware of the rule and all of its requirements for protecting the public,” Colaizzi says. “However, continued oversight by federal, state and local governments, and in particular by consumers, is still needed.”
So the most important thing owners of pre-1978 homes can do is hire certified contractors on jobs that disturb lead paint, and verify that the contractor follows the law.
“Correct practices are very easy to spot,” Peik says. “You should be seeing lots of plastic being set up to contain the area, literally taped down so air doesn’t get in, and windows, ducts and doorways sealed off. Homeowners really should insist on looking at the containment before actual work is executed.”
Jeff Van Slooten, owner of Lead Detective Agency in Sacramento, California, says he learned about lead poisoning the hard way when he accidentally exposed his 9-year-old son to it while stripping a door. Fortunately, his son, who’s now 27, had passed the age when lead poses the most risk to the brain.
Now working as a lead inspector, Van Slooten tests houses and soil for lead by using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, a handheld tool that costs $17,000 to $25,000 and requires specialized training. He checks hundreds of surfaces within a house, charging between $300 and $600. Van Slooten also conducts clearance evaluations by taking dust-wipe samples around the home and getting them tested by a lab.
While the RRP rule requires no clearance test, Van Slooten and many other experts highly recommend getting one. He typically charges about $300 to perform one. “I wish more people were aware of it, but this is a tall mountain to climb,” he says.
Though enforcement, regulations and education all play a role, nearly every expert we interviewed echoed the same sentiment: Change happens most quickly when homeowners and parents demand it.
Tamara Rubin, who started the Lead Safe America Foundation, agrees. “Until parents realize the impact lead has had on our overall society, the change isn’t going to happen,” she says. “There’s a profound link between lead, crime, special education and health care. It’s impacting us on every front, and people just don’t get it.”
Editor's note: This is an updated version of an article originally posted on Sept. 22, 2014.
Popular
Answers
1. It's important that I find a good one
2. I'm not an expert enough to know myself who is a good one
3. The industry is full of advertisements and misinformation
4. I wish I knew what experiences other people have had
That's very difficult to answer without seeing the house. As one poster said, the prep is the most important part. On newer homes that don't have a lot of peeling paint, the prep can be very minimal even as low as a couple or a few hundred dollars for the prep labor.
On a 100 year old home with 12 coats of peeling paint on it, then the prep costs can be very high and can easily exceed 50% of the job's labor cost.
A 2100 sq ft two story home could easily cost $1000 just for the labor to prep for the paint job. That number could climb too. Throw in lots of caullking or window glazing, and you could be talking a couple or a few hundred dollars more for labor.
Painting that home with one coat of paint and a different color on the trim could run roughly $1000 or more just for labor. Add a second coat and that could cost close to another $1000 for labor.
For paint, you may need 20 gallons of paint. You can pay from $30-$70 for a gallon of good quality exterior paint. The manufacturer of the paint should be specified in any painting contract. Otherwise, the contractor could bid at a Sherwin-Williams $60 per gallon paint and then paint the house with $35 Valspar and pocket the difference. $25 dollars per gallon times 20 gallons? That's a pretty penny too.
That was the long answer to your question. The short answer is $2000 to $4000 and up, depending upon the amount of prep, the number of coats, the amount of trim, and the paint used.
Comments
Subject: lowes failed to perform lead removal
Hello I am seeking advice on if I should continue with a complaint I have against lowes hardware. I recently purchase replacement windows. I knew that my home would test positive for lead paint so when they said it would be an extra $500 to remove it I was not shocked. After the contractors were almost done with the job I noticed that there was no extra plastic or vacumes picking up the paint. I asked one of the workers and he said they were not made aware of the lead paint. So I immediately called lowes and told them. After a few days they verified the work had not been done and they would credit me back the $500. As I was still very concerned about the health and danger of trying to pick up the lead paint by myself I felt I should be compensated more for the failure. After complaining to many corporate individuals at lowes' all I received for this trouble was a $150 store credit where I had to spend more money. Any suggestions on what I should do or pursue? Or is it a lost cause and I just need to drop it. thank you
Subject: Test Your Children for Lead
The Lead-Safe Checklist is missing one very important step: Get your children tested for lead poisoning. Federal mandates require all Medicaid-eligible children to be tested for lead at ages 1 and 2, when children are most vulnerable to permanent brain damage from inhaling or ingesting lead dust. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that ALL children be tested at ages 1 and 2. Lead poisoning does not discriminate, and a blood test is the only way to know if your child has been exposed.
Subject: We certainly agree
Subject: RRP rule four years later
Great article! and well done story.
Paul
Subject: Clarification
From what I read in the article Angie's List will still allow contractors who violate the RRP rule to continue to offer other services on Angie's List. Do I have that right? And if I do, can you explain why Angie's List would allow them to do so if they show a history of illegal activity?
Also, if the purpose is lead paint removal, an RRP certified firm cannot perform lead removal. Lead removal is different than lead safe remodeling. Lead removal must be done by someone licensed to do so. I suggest you clarify that important detail in the article under the sub-heading "Need lead paint removal? Ask for certification"
Subject: Hi Shawn,
Hi Shawn,
I'm Angie's List Managing Editor Diana Lamirand. We ask companies on Angie's List to attest to their compliance with trade licensing laws, as well as the EPA’s RRP, and whenever a question about that compliance is brought to our attention we conduct an on-demand audit. For any contractor who performs this type of work and fails to provide proof of EPA certification, we exclude them indefinitely from category and keyword searches on the List and add a notice to alert Angie’s List members. These companies also are prohibited from advertising on Angie's List. You are correct that lead abatement is a separate issue from the RRP. We didn't get into it because abatement is outside the scope of this article, which is about lead-safe remodeling. Homeowners looking for lead abatement or remediation do indeed need to hire contractors that are licensed and certified in that specific field. Such work is covered under different licensing codes and frequently regulated by the states. We've updated the section's heading to better reflect this information. We appreciate your feedback!
Subject: Lead Paint Danger
This is a fantastic series of articles on lead paint's impact on homeowners' families and what they should do to prevent its irreversible damage. The photos of EPA-certified contractors protecting themselves with safety gear and protecting building occupants by containing toxic lead dust are particularly useful. Homeowners need to know what they should require of their contractors remodeling their old homes. These photos and detailed articles do that well. Each linked article tells more of the story in down-to-earth language. Kudos, Angie's List for showing your commitment to your users' healthy and safe regarding lead-safe work practices.
Subject: Thanks!
We appreciate your thoughts a great deal! We definitely wanted to show homeowners in detail the kinds of practices they should be looking for. --
Paul F. P. Pogue
Post New Comment