Lead Exposure

Buying, Selling and Renovating Your Home with Old, Lead-Based Paint

Know the Law

A federal law that went into effect in 1996 has put into effect the following provisions:

  • LANDLORDS and SELLERS have to disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect or sales are final. Leases and contracts must include a federal form about old lead paint. Landlords and sellers must also give buyers and renters the government brochure, Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home.
  • BUYERS have up to 10 days to conduct a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment at their own expense.
  • RENOVATORS and REMODELERS have to give customers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brochure before starting work. The brochure is titled, Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home.

Test for Lead

If you have young children, are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, have a thorough lead risk assessment done by a professional contractor who does not also do abatement work to avoid a conflict of interest. Assessment will typically involve a range of methods, including: visual inspection of paint condition and location; lab tests of paint samples; and surface dust tests. If you're planning to remodel by tearing down any walls that could raise dangerous lead dust, consider x-ray fluorescence (XRF), which peers through layers of paint to detect lead.

If You Find Lead...

A recent EPA/Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Task Force report confirmed that old lead paint that is well-maintained does not present a hazard and is best left undisturbed. If the old lead paint is in poor condition — peeling, chipping, cracking or flaking — or if you plan to conduct any repairs or renovations, the lead can become a hazard, as it can create dust, which is the major pathway for exposure to lead. Lead dust can form when old lead paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated. Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together. Lead dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it.

Dealing with Old Lead Paint

Don't ever try to remove old lead paint by yourself. It is absolutely essential that a professional contractor trained in proper handling and removal of lead-based paint perform the job. Untrained, unskilled contractors or amateur do-it-yourself efforts can greatly increase risk by creating lead dust and releasing it into the air, and creating new lead contamination sites.
When Renovating: During renovation involving construction or lead removal, your family (especially children and pregnant women) should be temporarily moved out of the home until the work is done and the area is properly cleaned. If you have already completed renovations that could have released lead-based paint or dust, get your young children tested.
Encapsulation: One promising and increasingly popular permanent lead abatement technique is a new technology to encapsulate old lead paint in housing. Encapsulation is particularly encouraging as a more practical and cost-effective alternative to full removal of the paint.

Removal

Removal of lead-based paint remains a very expensive option and should take place only when the old lead paint has significantly deteriorated, or if earlier renovations have left lead-contaminated dust in the home.

For More Information

For a copy of Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home, Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home, the sample disclosure forms, or the rule, call the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) at (800) 424 LEAD, or TDD (800) 526 5456 for the hearing impaired.
Visit the NLIC on the Internet at their website.

The EPA pamphlet and rule are available electronically and may be accessed through the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/lead/nlicdocs.htm.