Lead Paint Blog

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 can cause reduced IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, emotional problems, mental retardation, stunted growth, and damage to internal organs such as kidneys, liver, and bones.  The worst effects include coma and even death from lead poisoning. Within the last ten years, children have died from lead poisoning in New Hampshire and in Alabama. Also, a large portion of the prison population has elevated lead levels in their blood, leading many experts to believe lead poisoning increases criminal behavior.  With reduced IQ and emotional problems, it is not surprising that kids who suffer from lead poisoning turn to crime as young adults.

   Many states require doctors to test infants and toddlers for lead in their blood.  Many people, especially in high risk populations like low-income populations, do not receive the mandated testing.  It is up to parents to demand testing from their doctors or other health professionals.  Community clinics usually have free testing for lead poisoning. 

   Lead poisoning hazards need to be permanently removed to ensure a healthy home.  Parents need to get their children tested, but the goal is to eliminate the hazards before children get poisoned.  Only safe permanent removal of lead paint will guarantee no future lead poisoning.

   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.

If you’re going to strip lead paint yourself, you need to have specific instruments to be able to do the job safely.  Here’s a short list of paint removal tools that you’ll need to strip lead paint:

A Mask
This will protect you against fumes and dust.  Breathing in lead debris can be very hazardous.

Coverall
Covering the rest of your body will ensure that lead paint chips and dust won’t get into on exposed skin, and you won’t spread the lead paint dust to other places.

Lead Paint Stripper                                                                                                                                               A safe paint stripper is necessary to contain the lead dust and make it easy for you to remove the paint without a lot of work. 

Scraper
It’s the main tool for “scraping” lead paint.  Being without this is like being a knight without a sword.

Many homes and schools built before 1978 will have some lead-based paint on the interiors and/or exteriors. Lead paint can also be found on playground equipment, boats and bridges. Exposure to lead can cause brain damage, especially in children and pregnant women.

The most common cause of exposure is from the dust generated when you sand lead-based paint or when the paint chips or peels with age.

A safe paint stripper is available and is highly recommended if you live in house where there is deteriorating lead paint.

    In April 2010, new regulations from the EPA will require all renovations in pre-1978 houses to follow lead safe work practices.  This essentially outlaws unsafe methods of lead paint removal, requires certification of workers and supervisors, and requires dust sampling to ensure no lead dust remains after work is completed.  Scraping, sanding, burning, or using any power tools that might kick up lead dust will be illegal paint removal methods in houses built before 1978.  
    Almost every contractor has worked on a house built before 1978, and most of them used some form of scraping or sanding to remove lead paint.  Also, many people remove lead paint without any training and fail to properly clean up afterwards.  The new regulations will require all professionals to obtain certification before starting any lead paint removal project. The EPA is also requiring dust sampling when the project is completed, because contractors will have to demonstrate that no lead dust remains in the house.
     Contractors and painters will all have to find a new lead paint removal methods or face very harsh penalties for non-compliance.  Some of these methods require expensive equipment.  If you want to scrape or sand the lead paint, you will need to use a wet method and have industrial HEPA vacuums constantly running.  Furthermore, precautions must be taken to contain the hazardous lead dust.  Not only does this include a basic quarantine of the work area and posting warning signs on all entrances, but everyone must wear personal protective equipment such as respirators, goggles, coveralls, and gloves.
    Some of these regulations cannot be avoided such as certification, posting warning signs, and passing the dust sampling clearance tests.  Many of the precautions, however, become unnecessary when certain paint strippers are used to remove lead paint.  Only non-toxic, non-caustic paint strippers should be used for lead paint removal. 
    A paste-like or semi-paste stripper will virtually eliminate lead dust, because the stripper will dissolve most of the paint and trap the dust in the residue.  Also, there are a few paint strippers that render lead paint non-hazardous.  The only one I am familiar with that permanently changes the lead paint is Lead-Out Paint Stripper, which also neutralizes other heavy metals such as chromium, cadmium, and zinc. Non-hazardous waste disposal is much cheaper than hazardous waste disposal.  Using such a paint stripper will ensure compliance with the law as well as everyone’s safety.