Lead Paint & Children: Understanding the EPA's New Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule and How It Affects You
Did you know that common renovation activities like sanding, blasting, and scraping walls can create health hazards by disturbing lead-based paint? In April 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted a rule aimed at protecting children from the dangers of lead based paint. The rule officially goes into effect on April 22, 2010. The rule may affect you if you live in a home built before 1978, own or operate a childcare facility built before 1978 (including preschools and kindergarten classrooms), or if you have a child under six who attends a child care facility built before 1978.
Facts About Lead Based Paint
• Lead-based paint was used in more than 38 million homes. It was banned for use in residential homes in 1978.
• Lead can affect children's brains and developing nervous systems, resulting in learning disabilities, reduced IQ, and behavioral problems. Lead is also very harmful to adults, but children under six years old are most at risk for lead poisoning.
• Inhaling dust is the most common way people are exposed to lead. Lead dust is often invisible.
• Renovation projects that disturb lead-based paint can create dust and health hazards for your family.
For more information about the health effects of exposure to lead, visit the EPA lead website at www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm or call 1-800-424-LEAD (5323).
What is the New RRP Rule?
Under the EPA's New Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule, renovators must provide homeowners, tenants, childcare facilities, and the families of children under the age of six that attend those facilities this Renovate Right Brochure before starting renovation activities. The rule applies to activities involving "six square feet or more of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects in housing, child care facilities and schools built before 1978." Child-occupied facilities are defined as commercial, public or residential buildings where children under age six are present on a regular basis. The rule also requires renovation and painting contractors and other trades who work in pre-1978 housing and might disturb painted surfaces to become Lead Certified Renovators by taking a 1 day course using lead safe practices.
Children Are Most At Risk
Children under six years old are the most at risk for lead poisoning because their bodies are sensitive to smaller amounts of lead than adults. Exposure can cause permanent damage and irreversible injury. Some of the permanent side effects of lead poisoning in children may include brain damage, ADD, hyperactivity, and learning disabilities. Early symptoms may including persistent hyperactivity or tiredness, loss of appetite, irritability, reduced attention span and difficulty sleeping. In some cases, the damage may not be apparent until many years after lead exposure. Diagnosis may not be made without medical testing. If you suspect lead poisoning in your child, see a doctor right away.
