The New 2010 Law about Lead Safety HandlingAll contractors working or homes and child occupied facilities built prior to 1978 must be lead safe certified by April 2010. Certification is acquired only through special lead safe training with the EPA/state run training. This applies to interior painted surface areas of six square feet or more, and exterior painted surface areas of twenty square feet or more. Contractors who are not certified in lead safety can incur tens of thousands of dollars in fines. The homeowner will not be fined. However, due to the steep fines for contractors, it is likely that the homeowner will lose money already paid to the contractor and the project will be left unfinished. What Does Certification and Lead Safety Mean To You?Hiring a Contractor When hiring a contractor to work on a pre-1978 home/child occupied facility, be sure to ask if they have lead safe certification. You may also ask for a copy of their EPA/state lead safe certification. Discuss which lead safe methods your contractor will use while working on your home. If you have tested for lead in the past, share the results with your contractor. The contractor must give you a copy of the EPA's lead safety informational packet and acquire your signature on the pre-renovation disclosure form authorizing that you have received the information. This packet of information can be found online at: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf Do It Yourself Property Owners- If you own pre-1978 rental property or child-occupied facilities, such as a day care, you and your workers must become lead safe certified in order to paint, remodel, or renovate an interior area of six square feet or more. Tenants should receive a copy of the EPA's lead safety renovation informational packet: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf. Property owners must acquire tenants' signatures on the pre-renovation disclosure form authorizing that they have received the information. It is recommended that this informational packet be available to parents/guardians of child occupants of facilities to be renovated. Homeowners- This law does not apply to homeowners working on their own homes. They are ultimately responsible for their own safety and the safety of their family and those in their care. With all this new info on certification laws and finding the right contractor, the temptation to simply 'do it yourself' is valid. However, you should know that many contractors, including Rock Solid Remodeling, have already obtained a lead safety certification. If you do choose to tackle a project yourself on your pre-1978 home, there are some things you will want to know about the dangers of lead. It is highly recommended by the EPA that you read their lead safety renovation informational packet: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf Warning: Hazardous MaterialsWhat you need to know about the dangers of lead:
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