Lead Paint Blog

Marine paint removal is another place you could find lead based paint.  Many people use a belt-sander to remove paint off boats, but this is very dangerous and harmful to the environment if there is lead paint on that boat.  Many chemical strippers are not suitable for use on a boat and most are not suitable for use on lead paint. 

Lead-Out Paint Stripper is the ideal paint remover for stripping and painting your boat.  It is safe, because it is non-toxic and won’t cause chemical burns if it touches your skin.  It is effective, because it will strip multiple coats of paint over a coverage area of around 100 square feet.  Also, the gel paint stripper keeps all the paint encapsulated in the gel instead of creating a cloud of noxious fumes, and Lead-Out will render the lead paint non-hazardous.  It is easy to use, because you simply brush or spray it on and it will lift the paint off the surface so you only have to wipe it off when it is doen.  If you are thinking about removing paint from your boat, then consider Lead-Out Paint Stripper.

When I bought my house last May, they said that it was a fixer upper.  That’s why I got it such a premium price.  But I don’t think that I truly understood what a fixer upper really was until I tried to do some of the fixing myself.  That’s when I realized that I needed either a lot of time or a lot of help. 

I chose time so that I could get the project done on my own and truly feel like this was my house that I was stepping into: the House that Janet Built.  So I went to the store and the first thing I bought was paint removal tools so that I could take out the God awful pain that was marring the outside of the house.  Next maybe some plumbing?

Lead paint coats many steel surfaces such as bridges, pipes, silos, and fuel tanks.  When evaluating a paint removal method for steel structures several factors must be considered.  First, the effectiveness of the removal method in actually removing the lead paint.  Soda blasting or other abrasive blasting is a common method, but blasting requires a lot of equipment and it is difficult to contain the hazardous lead paint.  Using a chemical stripper uses much less equipment and makes containment easy while it is just as effective if not more effective in stripping the paint off steel surfaces. 

Containment is always an issue when removing lead paint.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires certain precautions are taken to reduce exposure to workers.  Containing the dust and debris generated by removing lead paint is essential to meeting OSHA requirements.  This makes any type of blasting inefficient, because workers will have to wear significant personal protective equipment (ppe) and setup physical barriers around the work site to prevent spreading the hazardous lead dust.  When a non-toxic, non-caustic chemical stripper is used, less ppe is required and the lead dust is automatically contained by the paint stripper itself.  This will ensure compliance with OSHA, and if the stripper renders the lead non-hazardous, it will be easy to comply with EPA and HAZMAT requirements as well.

Some paint strippers can corrode the steel or be harmful to the workers.  That is why only non-toxic, non-caustic paint strippers should be used to remove lead paint from steel structures. 

Finally, you want the most bang for your buck.  Many paint strippers cannot cover more than 25 square feet per gallon.  Compare paint stripper coverage area before you buy. 

Sellers of homes, landlords and realtors are required to disclose the presence of known lead paint and lead hazards during the sale or rental of housing. Renovation and remodeling contractors are required to warn customers of the hazards of lead paint.

Effective March 1, 2000, lead paint abatement firms must be certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency, though many sources will tell you that due to safety, lead paint removal is necessary.

Lead is a naturally occurring element found in nature in the form of ores; it is a heavy, soft, malleable bluish metal. The history of its use traces back many centuries. The oldest known lead object was a statue excavated in Turkey and dated somewhere around 6500 B.C. During the Roman Empire, lead was used extensively in many aspects of life; to line vessels that stored water and wine, in utensils, and, in combined form, as a glaze on pottery.
 
In more recent years lead was widely used to extend the protective properties of paints, helped automobiles attain better fuel efficiency, protected occupation ally exposed workers from harmful radiation and provided a suitably dense material for ammunition and fishing weights. Even though it is no longer used in many of these applications, millions of homes remain painted with lead paint.

It’s been estimated that approximately 94% of the residential housing in San Francisco was built prior to 1978 and probably has lead-based paint. Lead-based paint chips, as well as soil and household dust contaminated with lead are the primary sources of childhood lead poisoning. Lead paint removal tools are available from several sources, particularly online.

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires lead paint inspectors, risk assessors, lead paint abatement supervisors, and lead paint abatement workers to obtain certification from the EPA or a State authorized training program.  It is a simple application with a nominal fee.  Some positions, such as supervisor and risk assessor, must meet higher qualifications like passing a test or having one year experience.  Before professionals can begin lead paint removal activity, they must obtain certification. 

   Individuals conducting lead paint removal activities privately in their home or other property are not required to obtain certification.  Only if you are in the business of inspecting, assessing, supervising, or working with lead based paint will you need EPA certification.  Individuals should, for their own sake and the sake of the environment, adhere to lead safe work practices.

  Professionals are required to conduct lead paint removal activities in accordance with lead safe work practices.  This involves posting warning signs around the work site, sealing off particular rooms, using a HEPA air filter if lead dust is stirred up, and, most importantly, reducing the amount of lead dust created.  Also, lead paint waste is normally hazardous and must be handled, transported, and disposed of under hazardous material regulations.

  To make adherence to lead safe work practices easier, professionals and individuals should use a non-toxic, paste-like paint stripper.  The IFS LEAD-OUT® Paint Stripper is the best of breed when it comes to removing lead paint.  There is virtually no dust during removal and the lead is rendered non-hazardous so you don’t have to deal with hazardous waste.  This makes containment easier and eliminates the need for HEPA filters.  If you need confirmation that the material is non-hazardous to pass a clearance test or send it to a non-hazardous waste site, diagnostic labs can do a TCLP test to demonstrate the lead paint waste is non-hazardous.

   As lead paint deteriorates it can flake off as paint chips, but more frequently the deterioration is less visible in the form of dust.  High impact surfaces, such as windows and doors, create the most lead dust.  This dust is frequently inhaled by people and children in the home.  It also gets on your hands and then into your body through your mouth or nose.  Lead poisoning effects thousands of children everyday.

   It is very important to clean around windows and doors if you live in a house built before 1978, which is when lead paint was banned.  Houses built before 1978 are likely to contain lead paint, and houses built before 1950 almost definitely contain lead paint.

   Cleaning everyday will lower the likelihood that you or your children will contract lead poisoning.  Permanently removing the lead paint will make certain that no one will end up with lead poisoning, which can cause serious health problems including brain damage.

   Improper removal of lead paint can be dangerous.  To make the job safe and easy use a non-toxic paint stripper that renders lead paint non-hazardous.  This method will eliminate hazardous lead dust and take the hard labor out of the job.  Make sure you have the proper tools and you keep children away from the work area.

  Workers in a number of industries work with lead based paint on a regular basis.  Contractors who work on old houses especially for renovations or remodelling must remove lead paint.  Workers run into lead paint on fuel tankers, bridges, shipyards, industrial facilities, and storage silos.  With any industrial lead paint removal, OSHA and EPA regulations must be observed.

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a high priority on reducing lead exposure among American workers.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also identified exposure to lead as a serious environmental hazard.  Basically, if you work with lead paint you must follow precautions to avoid inhalation of lead dust and avoid spreading the lead dust to other locations.  Employers must provide personal protective equipment and make a reasonable effort given the situation to protect their workers.

  One product that will increase compliance with OSHA and EPA standards in all industries working with lead paint is IFS LEAD-OUT® Paint Stripper.  This non-toxic paint stripper is industrial strength, because it will remove multiple coats of paint and cover up to 120 square feet of surface area per gallon.  It will also render lead and other heavy metals non-hazardous making the work much safer.  Not only will the work be safer and easier, but the lead paint residue will be non-hazardous waste.  Normally, lead paint waste must disposed of in a hazardous waste site, which can cost significantly more than non-hazardous waste sites.  Hence, LEAD-OUT® will help bring your project into compliance with OSHA and EPA regulations as well as save money on containment, transportation, and disposal, because you will remove the handling of hazardous waste from your industrial lead paint removal project.

I’ve heard some experts say “there is no such thing as safe do-it-yourself lead paint removal.”  It is unfortunate when people we rely on for information are not aware of recent developments in the industry.  When you work with a wet process that eliminates dust during paint removal, and you render the lead paint non-hazardous on contact, then you have a very safe do-it-yourself lead paint removal project.  The technology that allows you to do this is new, so I wouldn’t expect everyone to know about it.  People in the industry need to educate themselves about new technologies.

Of course, you must follow certain lead safe work practices and avoid the hazards.  First, never use methylene chloride or other toxic paint strippers to remove lead paint.  Always use a safe non-toxic paint stripper, and make sure the paint stripper permanently turns the lead paint non-hazardous.  Some strippers will only do this temporarily with a high alkiline pH.  Just spraying water on the paint and scraping or sanding it off will expose you to hazardous lead dust and spread that dust and paint chips around your house or yard.

Always protect yourself by wearing gloves, goggles, and clothes that will cover your whole body.  For extra protection you can wear a respirator.  Also, cover the floor of your work area with a plastic sheet taped to the floor or wall to secure it.  Keep other people, especially children, out of your work area until you are completely done.  Clean your work area before and after paint removal.

You are not done until final clean up.  After you remove the lead paint and dispose of it, you must clean your clothes, tools, and work area thoroughly.  This final clean up may be the most important part of the job. 

   Lead Poisoning effects hundreds of thousands of children every year making it the number one environmental threat in the US.  We need to do more to reduce childhood lead poisoning. 

   Pollution is accepted in industrial societies as a necessary evil.  Many people believe it is the price we pay for our high standard of living.  Most people think about pollution and environment threats as large smoke stacks, car exhaust, nuclear waste, hazardous dumps, and global warming.  Most of these things are far away and can be avoided.  Global warming is just a concept to many of us and the emotional impact of such a threat is muted by its complexity (not to say global warming is not real, because it is very real and very serious).  None of these things, however, are poisoning hundreds of thousands of children right now.

  Just about all houses built before 1978 contain lead paint, which is the main source of lead poisoning.  As lead paint ages it deteriorates turning into lead dust and paint chips.  Inhaling lead dust or touching the wall and then getting lead dust in the mouth or nose are the most frequent causes of lead poisoning.  Keeping a house clean everyday can go a long way to prevent lead poisoning.

  The only way to permanently remove the threat is to remove the paint.  You must remove lead paint properly or you will increase the risk of lead poisoning.  A safe lead paint stripper is essential to ensure safety.  Follow instructions carefully and wear some protective equipment like gloves, goggles, and coveralls.  Also, it is essential to clean up before and after a paint removal job.  Read more about lead poisoning and lead paint removal at www.leadpaintblog.com.