Professional Mold Specialist Serving the Boston, MA Area

RRP Frequently Asked Questions

What is NOT considered Target Housing?

• Housing built in 1978 or later.
• Housing for elderly or disabled persons, unless children under 6 reside or are expected to reside there.
• Zero-bedroom dwellings (studio apartments, dormitories, etc.).
• Housing or components declared lead-free by a certified inspector or risk assessor.
• Minor repair and maintenance activities that disturb 6 square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less on the exterior of a home or building.

* Note: minor repair and maintenance activities do not include window replacement and projects involving demolition

What Activities Are Subject to the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program?

In general, any activity that disturbs paint in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, including but not limited to:

• Remodeling and repair/maintenance
• Electrical work
• Plumbing
• Painting
• Carpentry
• Window replacement

What Does the Program Require Me To Do? Pre-renovation education requirements (Effective now)

In housing, you must:

• Distribute EPA's lead pamphlet to the owner and occupants before renovation starts.

In a child-occupied facility, you must:

• Distribute the lead pamphlet to the owner of the building or an adult representative of the child-occupied facility before the renovation starts.

For work in common areas of multi-family housing or child-occupied facilities, you must:

• Distribute renovation notices to tenants or parents/guardians of the children attending the child-occupied facility. Or you must post informational signs about the renovation or repair job.

Informational signs must:

• Be posted where they will be seen;
• Describe the nature, locations, and dates of the renovation; and
• Be accompanied by the lead pamphlet or by information on how parents and guardians can get a free copy.
• Obtain confirmation of receipt of the lead pamphlet from the owner, adult representative, or occupants (as applicable), or a certificate of mailing from the post office.
• Retain records for three years.

Note: Pre-renovation education requirements do not apply to emergency renovations. Emergency renovations include interim controls performed in response to a resident child with an elevated blood-lead level.

Training, Certification, and Work Practice Requirements Effective after April 22, 2010.

• Firms must be certified.
• Renovators must be trained.

Lead-safe work practices must be followed. Examples of these practices include:

• Work-area containment to prevent dust and debris from leaving the work area.
• Prohibition of certain work practices like open-flame burning and the use of power tools without HEPA exhaust control.
• Thorough clean up followed by a verification procedure to minimize exposure to lead-based paint hazards.

The training, certification, and work practice requirements do not apply where the firm obtained a signed statement from the owner that all of the following are met:

• The renovation will occur in the owner's residence;
• No child under age 6 resides there;
• No woman who is pregnant resides there;
• The housing is not a child-occupied facility; and
• The owner acknowledges that the renovation firm will not be required to use the work practices contained in the rule.

What Are the Responsibilities of a Certified Firm?

Firms performing renovations must ensure that:

• All individuals performing activities that disturb painted surfaces on behalf of the firm are either certified renovators or have been trained by a certified renovator.
• A certified renovator is assigned to each renovation and performs all of the certified renovator responsibilities.
• All renovations performed by the firm are performed in accordance with the work practice standards of the Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program (see the flowchart on page 9 for details about the work practice standards).
• Pre-renovation education requirements of the Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program are performed.
• The program's recordkeeping requirements are met.

When Do These Requirements Become Fully Applicable to Me?

April 2009:

• Training providers may begin applying for accreditation.
• Once training providers are accredited, they may offer training courses that will allow renovators to become certified.

October 2009: Renovation firms may begin applying to EPA for certification.

April 2010: Program fully effective. Work practices must be followed.

How Will a Renovator Become Certified?

To become a certified renovator an individual must successfully complete an eight-hour initial renovator training course offered by an accredited training provider (training providers are accredited by EPA, or by an authorized state or tribal program). The course completion certificate serves as proof of certification. Training providers can apply for accreditation for renovator and dust sampling technician training beginning in April 2009. Once accredited, trainers can begin to provide certification training.

How Will a Firm Become Certified?

Beginning in October 2009, firms may apply to EPA for certification to perform renovations or dust sampling. To apply, a firm must submit to EPA a completed, Application for Firms,  signed by an authorized agent of the firm, and pay the correct amount of fees.

Are There Streamlined Requirements for Contractors with Previous Lead Training?

Yes. Individuals who have successfully completed an accredited lead abatement worker or supervisor course, or individuals who have successfully completed an EPA, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or EPA/HUD model renovation training course, need only take a four-hour refresher renovator training course instead of the eight-hour initial renovator training course to become certified.

How Long Will Firm and Renovator Certifications Last?

To maintain their certification, renovators and firms must be re-certified by EPA every five years. A firm must submit to EPA a completed Application for Firms, signed by an authorized agent of the firm, and pay the correct amount of fees. Renovators must successfully complete a refresher training course provided by an accredited training provider.

What Are the Recordkeeping Requirements?

All documents must be retained for three years following the completion of a renovation. Records that must be retained include:

• Reports certifying that lead-based paint is not present.
• Records relating to the distribution of the lead pamphlet.
• Any signed and dated statements received from owner-occupants documenting that the requirements do not apply (i.e., there is no child under age 6 or no pregnant woman who resides at the home, and it is not a child-occupied facility).
• Documentation of compliance with the requirements of the Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program.

How Is My Compliance Determined, and What Happens if the Agency Discovers a Violation?

To maximize compliance, EPA implements a balanced program of compliance assistance, compliance incentives, and traditional law enforcement. EPA knows that small businesses that must comply with complicated new statutes or rules often want to do the right thing, but may lack the requisite knowledge, resources, or skills. Compliance assistance information and technical advice helps small businesses to understand and meet their environmental obligations. Compliance incentives, such as EPA?s Small Business Policy, apply to businesses with 100 or fewer employees and encourage persons to voluntarily discover, disclose, and correct violations before they are identified by the government. EPA's enforcement program is aimed at protecting the public by targeting persons or entities who neither comply nor cooperate to address their legal obligations.

EPA uses a variety of methods to determine whether businesses are complying, including inspecting work sites, reviewing records and reports, and responding to citizen tips and complaints. Under TSCA, EPA (or a state, if this program has been delegated to it) may file an enforcement action against violators seeking penalties of up to $32,500 per violation, per day. The proposed penalty in a given case will depend on many factors, including the number, length, and severity of the violations, the economic benefit obtained by the violator, and its ability to pay. EPA has policies in place to ensure penalties are calculated fairly. These policies are available to the public. In addition, any company charged with a violation has the right to contest EPA?s allegations and proposed penalty before an impartial judge or jury.

EPA encourages small businesses to work with the Agency to discover, disclose, and correct violations. The Agency has developed self-disclosure, small business, and small community policies to modify penalties for small and large entities that cooperate with EPA to address compliance problems. In addition, EPA has established compliance assistance centers to serve over one million small businesses (see Construction Industry Compliance Assistance Center for information regarding this rule at www.cicacenter.org). For more information on compliance assistance and other EPA programs for small businesses, please contact EPA?s Small Business Ombudsman at 202-566-2075.

What Are the Required Work Practices?

The flow charts on the following pages will help determine if your project is subject to the Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Program's requirements and, if so, the specific requirements for your particular project. The flowcharts, and other information included in this guide, are not intended to be a replacement for official training.

Work Practice Requirements General

(A) Renovations must be performed by certified firms using certified renovators.

(B) Firms must post signs clearly defining the work area and warning occupants and other persons not involved in renovation activities to remain outside of the work area. These signs should be in the language of the occupants.

(C) Prior to the renovation, the firm must contain the work area so that no dust or debris leaves the work area while the renovation is being performed.

(D) Work practices listed below are prohibited during a renovation:

• Open-flame burning or torching of lead-based paint;
• Use of machines that remove lead-based paint through high speed operation such as sanding, grinding, power planing, needle gun, abrasive blasting, or sandblasting, unless such machines are used with HEPA exhaust control; and
• Operating a heat gun on lead-based paint at temperatures of 1100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

(E) Waste from renovations:

• Waste from renovation activities must be contained to prevent releases of dust and debris before the waste is removed from the work area for storage or disposal.
• At the conclusion of each work day and at the conclusion of the renovation, waste that has been collected from renovation activities must be stored to prevent access to and the release of dust and debris.
• Waste transported from renovation activities must be contained to prevent release of dust and debris.

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