The Environmental Protection Agency proposed revisions Oct. 28 to
the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule to increase its
protection of children and adults (74 Fed. Reg. 55,506).
EPA is proposing to increase the number of pre-1978 homes where
lead renovations would be subject to safety precautions, including
minimizing dust, containing work areas, and conducting a thorough
cleanup to reduce exposure associated with disturbing lead-based
paint. The federal government banned lead-based paint from homes in
1978.
EPA also will propose to require renovators to provide the owner
and occupant (if the occupant is a different party) with records
documenting compliance with the rule.
“The proposed rule will further increase protections for
children and their families from lead-based paint hazards associated
with home renovation and repair,” said Steve Owens, assistant
EPA administrator for prevention, pesticides, and toxic substances, in
a statement issued Oct. 22.
The proposed rule comes on top of the agency's announcement that it
will propose to revise its hazard standard for lead in dust and to
work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to revise
the regulatory definition of lead-based paint (33 CRR 1049,
10/26/09).
That action resulted from a petition filed by housing and
environmental advocacy groups. Section 21 of the Toxic Substances
Control Act authorizes individuals and groups to petition the agency
for rulemaking. If EPA decides the hazard standard or regulatory
definition need to be revised, it would have to propose those changes
in a future Federal Register
notice.
Proposal to Eliminate Regulatory Exemption.
The Oct. 28 proposed rule revising the 2008 Lead Renovation,
Repair, and Painting Rule would eliminate what EPA refers to as the
“opt-out” provision.
That provision allowed renovators to opt out, or be exempted from,
the training and work requirements of the rule. Firms could be
exempted if they obtained a certification from the owner that no child
under 6 and no pregnant woman resided in the residence.
The opt-out provision fails to protect older children and adults,
who also can be harmed by lead, EPA said in its Oct. 28 Federal
Register notice.
The provision does not protect children who might be exposed to
lead from renovations occurring when they visit their grandparents'
home, EPA said. It also fails to protect pregnant women or young
children who lived adjacent to a property that is being renovated, the
agency said.
EPA requested comments on the appropriateness of removing the
opt-out provision from the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting
Rule.
The agency also seeks comment on alternative approaches it could
use to enhance the protections offered by the renovation, repair, and
painting rule.
More Recordkeeping Obligations.
EPA is proposing to increase recordkeeping requirements to the
rule. When a final invoice for the renovation is delivered, or within
30 days of completion--whichever is earlier--the renovation firm would
have to provide information demonstrating its compliance with the rule
to the building's owner and, if different, the occupants of the house
or child-occupied facility, EPA said.
If a firm uses dust sampling to determine final levels of the
renovated home or facility, the firm would be required to make those
records available to the residents or parents and guardians of a
child-care facility, EPA said.
EPA is proposing additional changes affecting training.
EPA estimates the revised renovation, repair, and painting rule
would cost about $500 million in the first year. That cost would
decrease to about $300 million starting with the second year, when
improved test kits for detecting lead-based paint are expected to be
available, the agency said.
EPA seeks comment on how it can fully quantify the benefits of the
proposed rule. The benefits result from the prevention of adverse
health effects such as impaired cognitive function in children along
with heart problems and decreased kidney function that can occur in
children and adults, EPA said.
The proposed rule resulted, EPA said, from a legal settlement it
reached Aug. 29 with environmental and children's health advocacy
groups that had challenged the 2008 rule.
EPA will undertake three separate rulemakings to expand coverage
and strengthen requirements of the 2008 rule, which will take full
effect on April 22, 2010, according to information posted on the lead
section of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics' website.
Comments on the proposed revisions to the 2008 Lead Renovation,
Repair, and Painting Rule are due Nov. 27.
They should be marked EPA-HQ-OPPT-2005-0049 and submitted through
http://www.regulations.gov.
By Pat Rizzuto
For additional information on the proposed revisions to the 2008
Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule, contact Marc Edmonds in
EPA's National Program Chemicals Division, Office of Pollution and
Prevention and Toxics, at (202) 566-0758 or at
edmonds.marc@epa.gov.
Copyright 2009, The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.