Paint and Coatings Industry News

Main News Page

EPA Lead Rule Takes Effect

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

April 22, 2010 is the effective date for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead  Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) program, which requires contractors who work in pre-1978 homes, schools and day-care centers to be certified in lead-safe practices.

On Tuesday, Kansas and Rhode Island adopted their own RRP programs in lieu of the federal program, bringing the number of authorized state programs to six. The other states are Mississippi, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Carolina.

Effective today:

• Renovation firms must be certified by the EPA.

• Individuals must be trained in lead-safe work practices.

• All training providers must be accredited by EPA.

Contractors who perform renovation, repairs, and painting jobs in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities must, before beginning work, provide owners, tenants, and child-care facilities with a copy of EPA's lead hazard information pamphlet Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools (PDF) (en español). Contractors must document compliance with this requirement. EPA’s pre-renovation disclosure form (PDF) may be used for this purpose.

As of today, federal law requires contractors to be certified and to use lead-safe work practices. To become certified, renovation contractors must submit an application and fee payment to EPA.

Contractors may read about how to comply with EPA's rule in the EPA Small Entity Compliance Guide to Renovate Right (PDF) (34 pp, 2.5MB) | en español (PDF) (34 pp, 1.3MB).

Contractors may read about how to use lead-safe work practices in EPA's Steps to Lead Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting (PDF) (36 pp, 878K) | en español (PDF) (36 pp, 1.5MB).

EPA expects about 150,000 contractors to be trained by today, leaving an additional 50,000 or more to be trained going forward. Training will continue after today, although enforcement will begin immediately.

Note: Contractors and training providers working in Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi, Kansas and Rhode Island must contact the state to find out more about its training and certification requirements.

For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/lead/.