EPA National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Oct. 24-30

Yes...it is true. If you have a home that was constructed prior to 1978 there is a possiblitly that the paint your property was painted with - contained some degree of lead. If your property was constructed prior to 1949, your structure most definitely contains lead in the paint.




Lead is a natural metal and if ingested or inhaled attacks your brain and liver and damages these vital parts irreperably. Some years back a disclosure was introduced into the California Real Estate Contract in an effort to alert buyers to this potential problem. This disclosure was the result of a catastrophic situation whereby small children - primarily teething toddlers, were found to have been chewing on the window sills of their apartment windows in tenement housing, apparently unbeknownst to their mothers. These children suffered permanent mental retardation and other physical damage- prompting civil and legal intervention.



Lead is back in the picture once more, only on a grander scale. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has elimiinated this 'opt out' disclosure by finding a loophole and as of April 2010 and instituted a new requirement. This requirement primarily targets contractors - painting contractors in particular. A new certification must be obtained verifying the completion of course work leading to the contractor being a 'Lead Certified Contractor.'



To abate the lead found in the dust from sanding paint, along with the lead-laden paint chips that are derived from pressure washing the exterior of a structure, a contractor will be liable for properly tenting the exterior of a structure where more than 20 square feet are disrupted, or 6 sq. ft. on the interior is idsturbed; 6 square feet - that is about the size of a newspaper. The contractor's liability will extend not only to the inhabitants of the home but due to the airborne properties of the dust it will extend to the surrounding neighbors as well.



Who will this affect? It will certainly tag Homeowners, Property Managers, Landlords and yes, Home Sellers. In this day and age of financial limitations in our government, you may wonder 'who' will oversee and manage policing this industry? Well, you and I will for the outset anyway. That is the hope of the EPA. For the time being 'do-it-yourselfers' are exempt from liability. Being that this is California a great litigious state, you would do well to keep records and especially photos, of the work that you do.



The National Association of Realtors has provided video's on their site for anybody wanting more information on this subject. If you know contractors involved with painting, you might want to send them to this site to read the new rule.

Http://www.realtor.org/governmentaffairs/leadpaint main.