Lead Dust Control and Containment Guard the Health of Your Family

Just two words: lead dust.  

Two words that mean a great danger to you and your family.

Effective January 01, 1978, sale of lead-containing paint was banned.  We often think of lead in paint chips, but it’s the inhalation or ingestion of lead dust that spells the greatest danger.  Projects that disturb lead paint can create lead-containing dust, a poison that attacks the central nervous system and inhibits brain development in children, and increases blood pressure and causes hypertension in adults.  It also poses risks to pregnant women and their fetus.

Lead is around us in low ambient levels.  The soils in our yards contain it after years of our driving cars with lead in gasoline.  But great harm can come from the introduction of lead into our bodies from concentrations of it brought to our floors and other horizontal surfaces by remodeling and renovation work.  Without proper containment, control, and clean-up, this dust will contaminate the play areas and toys of our small children, the most vulnerable among us,  For weeks and months it can be breathed and ingested; a child’s propensity for hand to mouth activities invites such ingestion.  Lead-poisoning damage to humans is profound and irreversible.  Don’t let it happen to you or your children.

How can you protect yourself?

First, if you are a DIYer, get an education about this danger and the three C’s (containment, control, and clean-up) before you tackle another project in your home if it was built before 1978.  Second, have your painted surfaces tested for lead, inside and out, and especially where you contemplate disturbing old paint.  Or third, leave the work to others, and contact a Certified Renovator Firm, a company compliant with and certified by the Environmental Protection Agency to handle lead in remodeling and repair of homes and child-occupied care facilities and schools.  Effective April 22, 2010, minor repair projects involving as little as a total of 6 square feet of surface area, any and all window and door replacement projects, and other prohibited use projects, are covered by the new EPA Lead Renovate, Repair and Painting Rule and its requirements for control and clean-up.

Firm certification is no trifling thing.  Whole new protocols must be prepared for lead discovery and testing, job set-up, the window and door replacement work itself, interior and exterior clean-up and materials disposal, surface inspections and certification, and documentation of the entire process.  Yes, you can expect to pay your contractor more for the time and materials it takes to comply with the Rule and provide these protections.  [The fines for non-compliance are ridiculously onerous - over $30,000 per day per incidence.]  Truly, while you’ll walk by caution tape, safety cones, and warning signs on your own property while your Certified Renovator Firm completes its work, you will have confidence that proper precautions have been taken to protect yourself, your family, and even your neighbors from the dangers of disturbed lead paint. 

If you think you may find your home and contemplated projects falling under the new lead rules, contact us.  We’d love to talk with you.  [Egret is a Certified Renovator Firm (training complete, application approval pending).]

For more information, visit:

• The Renovate Right Brochure – 19 pages
• Lead: A Parent’s Guide - 67 pages
• Finding a Qualified Lead Professional – 4 pages