If you are a renovation firm, then we recommend you read through all of the subjects below to learn how to fulfill your legal requirements to protect yourself, your employees, and your clients from the dangers of lead exposure.
As a contractor, you play an critical role in helping to prevent lead exposure. Ordinary renovation and maintenance activities can create toxic lead dust that can harm your customers, workers and even yourself. But by following lead-safe work practices, you can prevent lead hazards.
On this page:
The Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule establishes requirements for firms and individuals performing renovations, and affects contractors, property managers and others who disturb painted surfaces. It applies to work in houses, apartments and child-occupied facilities (such as schools and child care centers) built before 1978. It includes pre-renovation education requirements as well as training, firm certification and work practice requirements.
In general, anyone who is paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified. This includes all firms, even sole proprietorships.
Examples of the types of firms covered:
Firms cannot advertise or perform renovation activities covered by the RRP Rule in homes or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 without firm certification.
Paint testing is not required by the RRP Rule, but unless you have documentation that the paint is not lead-based, then the requirements of the RRP Rule apply.
If you or your client chooses to have the paint tested prior to renovation, testing must be done by the appropriate qualified professional on all surfaces to be affected by the work.
| Type of Paint Testing for Renovations | Who Can Do the Testing? |
|---|---|
| EPA-recognized test kits | Certified renovators |
| X-Ray Fluorescence instruments | Certified lead-based paint inspectors or risk assessors |
| Paint chip sampling | Certified renovator, inspector or risk assessor |
