I plead ignorance on this topic. Fines for doing what?
Google US EPA RRP (renovate,repair,paint).
To become certified you have to take an 8 hour class and pass a test about "lead safe" work practices. Prices for the class vary. The cheapest I've seen is $150 but I heard they focused mostly on windows. The class I took was $259 (plus the lost income for the day). In addition to the certification, companies need to buy a $300 license from the EPA, buy a special hepa vac (which are now in short supply),follow very specific work procedures,and keep detailed work records.
Before the RRP rules took effect the labor costs for a typical vinyl window replacement would run $150 in my area. The guys doing window replacements when lead paint is present are now having to charge upwards of $400 per window!
Got a house with peeling paint you want to have sided? Your contractor will have to vacuum up the paint chips from the ground!
The RRP rules outline very specific work procedures. It's obvious whoever wrote the rules has absolutely no construction experience.......Example: When replacing a window that has lead paint plastic has to be put down to cover the ground, and it has to be taped to the foundation. Pretty hard to do under perfect circumstances and impossible if its rained or snowed.
There are proposed changes in the works that will expand the requirements to commercial buildings and tighten the requirements for outside work. One of the proposed changes includes vertical barriers. A few nights ago I read one proposed change that outlined work procedures for surfaces that DO NOT contain lead!!!! They are also considering requiring 3rd party exit testing. Basically requiring a 3rd party to test cleaning wipes for lead levels.
There ARE legitimate health concerns with lead paint dust, but, and that's a big BUT, blood lead levels in the group in which these regs are supposed to help have decreased 84% since the early 80's and the problems they cite for creating the regs have remained (and even increased). Perhaps there are other factors that lead to the problems.
There are several things that make these rules bad for contractors.
Obviously the rules will drive prices up.
They have a snitch line where homeowners can report their contractors for not following the rules. In reality its competing contractors that are doing the snitching. Fines are $37,500 per violation per day. Violations can be anything from not having required documents on the jobsite, not following specified procedures, to not keeping required records. The person doing the snitching receives a commission on any fines that are collected.
When I took my certification class the instructor talked about one contractor from his area that had 17 complaints on the snitch line in one week!
Workers will be more prone to increased blood lead levels because of working in containment areas. If workers blood lead levels exceed a certain amount the employer has to keep them on the payroll for 18 months even though they won't be allowed to work on projects that contain lead paint. Look for workers comp rates to increase.
In addition to the increased liability with worker's the new regs will increase our liability with home owners.
Guess who is taking the certification classes. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, painters...........and LAWYERS!!!!!!!!
The original rules provided an opt out clause where home owners could opt to allow contractors to not follow the rules if certain criteria were met. The Sierra Club sued the EPA. As part of the settlement the EPA dropped the opt out clause.
I got the certification but I haven't bought the license. For now I'm turning down work if the customer's house tests positive for lead paint. Depending on how the rules change I may opt to not work on any pre 1978 housing whether there's lead pain or not.
There are still lots of contractors that don't know about the new rules. These rules apply to ALL contractors that work on pre 1978 houses that contain lead paint ANYWHERE in the USA. Oh yeah, one of the proposed changes is to include post 1978 housing!
Enjoy a cremestick for me. :thumbsup: