Lead-Based Paint
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development has implemented new laws regarding defective paint (potentially containing lead) in units built BEFORE 1978. In order to effectively begin or to continue the Section 8 program in any of your units built prior to 1978 where children under 6 years old reside or may reside in the future, the following regulations will have to be followed.  In addition to providing a description of the new laws and required procedures, we will also mention other ways of handling this issue which could greatly simplify the new laws.

The 5 ft. limitation no longer applies. Defective paint will now have to be removed in an acceptable manner from the ground to the peak of the roof. Any fence or outbuilding on the property will also now be part of the inspection. Re-painting will have to be performed immediately or as soon as weather permits, or, encapsulating the effected area with siding or other material where possible.

If any defective paint is found during a Section 8 inspection, the law prohibits the owner of the unit from doing any of the repairs, (**unless it's deminimus) or from even taking the samples of defective paint to be sent for testing, without proper training.   Paint samples can be collected only by persons certified by the EPA as a Lead Inspector or Risk Assessor.  Contractors must also have their Lead Abatement Project Designers and Supervisors certified by the EPA.   They are required by law to treat it very similarly to asbestos. Contractors have to be equipped with special vacuum equipment to keep any dust particles from escaping during the removal process and the paint can no longer be "dry" scraped, only wet scraping will be allowed. After the repairs are made a "clearance" inspector must then come out to give final approval on the repairs. Owners can be licensed to repair defective paint by taking certain approved courses and having specialized equipment which can be specified if desired. "Risk assessment" (pre-repair) and "clearance" inspections still would have to be performed by licensed third party individuals upon the initial finding of defective paint by HUD and completion of repairs by said contractor. All incurred costs would have to be covered by the property owner. Click this link for service providers in Washington. 

In short, if no peeling, cracking, chalking paint or unstable substrate is found during any Housing Authority inspection, no testing, risk assessment or paint stabilization will be needed. This will require more diligence to stay on top of the condition of any rental unit which you desire to be on the Section 8 program that are older than 1978 and have children under 6 years of age or a pregnant female living there. It has been said that possibly within 5 years all rental property that is older than 1978 will come under the same federal laws regarding lead paint.

September 15, 2000 is the effective date for this new regulation. All housing types will be included whether single family houses, apartments or mobile homes. Remember, this only applies to units built before January 1^st, 1978, with children under the age of 6 or a pregnant female residing, or anticipated to reside in the unit. We will require proof of the date of construction to waive this requirement.

Please contact us at 360-423-0140 (OR/WA Toll-Free 1-800-613-4993) if you have questions about the new regulations. Our agency will be conducting landlord training sessions every year to provide comprehensive information to local landlords about this new regulation and to answer questions you may have.  We would encourage all of you to attend if at all possible.

We have tried to make the new regulations as simple and understandable as possible. We are as concerned as you are about the new laws and the added amount of work involved to maintain a Section 8 unit, but we too, are bound by federal regulations dictating program administration. We all need to remember that this is a serious health issue in older housing stock and more cases of children with elevated lead blood levels are identified each year.

**deminimus = less than 20 square feet on an outside surface or 2 square feet on an inside surface or 10% of a component's area (e.g. windowsill, door frame)

40 CFR Ch. I (7–1–02 Edition) 

§ 745.227 Work practice standards for conducting lead-based paint activities: target housing and child-occupied facilities.

 (a) Effective date, applicability, and terms.
(1) Beginning on March 1, 2000, all lead-based paint activities shall be performed pursuant to the work practice standards contained in this section.
(2) When performing any lead-based paint activity described by the certified individual as an inspection, lead hazard screen, risk assessment or abatement, a certified individual must perform that activity in compliance with the appropriate requirements below.
(3) Documented methodologies that are appropriate for this section are found in the following: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing; the EPA Guidance on Residential Lead-Based Paint, Lead-Contaminated Dust, and Lead-Contaminated Soil; the EPA Residential Sampling for Lead: Protocols for Dust and Soil Sampling (EPA report number 7474–R–95–001); Regulations, guidance, methods or protocols issued by States and Indian Tribes that have been authorized by EPA; and other equivalent methods and guidelines.
(4) Clearance levels [are] appropriate for the purposes of this section may be found in the EPA Guidance on Residential Lead-Based Paint, Lead-Contaminated Dust, and Lead Contaminated Soil or other equivalent guidelines.
(b) Inspection.
(1) An inspection shall be conducted only by a person certified by EPA as an inspector or risk assessor and, if conducted, must be conducted according to the procedures in this paragraph.
(2) When conducting an inspection, the following locations shall be selected according to documented methodologies and tested for the presence of lead-based paint:
(i) In a residential dwelling and child-occupied facility, each component with a distinct painting history and each exterior component with a distinct painting history shall be tested for lead-based paint, except those components that the inspector or risk assessor determines to have been replaced after 1978, or to not contain lead-based paint; and
(ii) In a multi-family dwelling or child-occupied facility, each component with a distinct painting history in every common area, except those components that the inspector or risk assessor determines to have been replaced after 1978, or to not contain lead-based paint.
(3) Paint shall be sampled in the following manner:
(i) The analysis of paint to determine the presence of lead shall be conducted using documented methodologies which incorporate adequate quality control procedures; and/ or
(ii) All collected paint chip samples shall be analyzed according to paragraph (f) of this section to determine if they contain detectable levels of lead that can be quantified numerically.
(4) The certified inspector or risk assessor shall prepare an inspection report which shall include the following information:
(i) Date of each inspection.
(ii) Address of building.
(iii) Date of construction.
(iv) Apartment numbers (if applicable).
(v) Name, address, and telephone number of the owner or owners of each residential dwelling or child-occupied facility.
(vi) Name, signature, and certification number of each certified inspector and/or risk assessor conducting testing.
(vii) Name, address, and telephone number of the certified firm employing each inspector and/or risk assessor, if applicable.
(viii) Each testing method and device and/or sampling procedure employed for paint analysis, including quality control data and, if used, the serial number of any x-ray fluorescence (XRF) device.
(ix) Specific locations of each painted component tested for the presence of lead-based paint.
(x) The results of the inspection expressed in terms appropriate to the sampling method used.
(f) Collection and laboratory analysis of samples. Any paint chip, dust, or soil samples collected pursuant to the work practice standards contained in this section shall be:
(1) Collected by persons certified by EPA as an inspector or risk assessor; and
(2) Analyzed by a laboratory recognized by EPA pursuant to section 405(b) of TSCA as being capable of performing analyses for lead compounds in paint chip, dust, and soil samples. on the exterior of any residential building or child-occupied facility.
For a detailed description click on this link:  http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/julqtr/pdf/40cfr745.227.pdf

[for more information regarding Lead-Based paint regulations, link to HUD ]
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