United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Technology & Development Program
		December 1996	9671-2354-MTDC
		7100

This is the third in a series of Tech Tips dealing with lead-based paint. This Tech Tip will briefly describe the major Federal laws dealing with lead-based paint. The next four Tech Tips describe each law in greater detail and explain how they apply to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

Federal Regulations and Rules Affecting Lead-Based Paint Projects

In 1992, President George Bush signed the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, referred to as Title X (Title Ten). Title X provides the framework for rules and regulations regarding lead-based paint hazard reduction. These rules apply to public buildings and dwellings operated by the Forest Service, including homes, rentals, daycare centers, and buildings such as visitor centers, comfort stations, recreation site shelters, and office buildings constructed before 1978. One may get the impression that the laws deal only with housing and buildings. However, OSHA and worker training and certification rules affect the entire construction industry, including structural steel work and bridge repainting. Title X requires several Federal agencies to establish:

• Guidelines for lead-based paint hazard evaluations
• Training and certification requirements for lead-based paint activities in target housing, child-occupied facilities, public and commercial buildings, superstructures, and bridges
• Requirements for lead-based paint disclosure information for renters and home buyers
• Requirements for worker protection from lead exposure in the construction industry.

The primary agencies involved are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Several States have programs or are developing programs to deal with lead-based paint. Contact your local or State EPA, or Environmental Health Office for more details. You can also obtain copies of these regu-lations through the applicable Federal agency or from the Internet at: http: //www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html

40 CFR Part 745--Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards Upon Sale or Lease of Residential Property. This EPA rule requires that home buyers and renters receive available information on lead based paint hazards associated with housing built before 1978. This rule applies to private and public housing that is sold or leased, including Federally owned housing.

Figure 1--Pamphlet available from the National Lead Clearinghouse.

The rule requires that owners and lessors:

• Disclose all known lead-based paint test results or lead-based paint hazards (effective Sept. 6, 1996)
• Give renters the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home (Figure 1)
• Include certain warning language in the lease, as well as signed statements from all parties verifying that all requirements were completed
• Retain signed acknowledgments for 3 years.

This rule applies to Forest Service units that lease living quarters to employees. The length of the lease must be 100 days or longer. Those employees and families must be given a notice describing if any lead inspections or risk assessments have been completed or if any lead hazards are known to exist. Also, they must be given the pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home. This rule only requires that you notify renters whether lead-based paint inspections or assessments have occurred, and if so, what the results were. The disclosure rule also applies any time the Forest Service transfers ownership of buildings built before 1978. This happens when buildings are "excessed." You can obtain a copy of the pamphlet and receive more information on the disclosure rule by contacting the National Lead Clearinghouse at 1-800-424-LEAD.

29 CFR 1926.62--Lead Exposure in Construction: Interim Final Rule, Inspection and Compliance Procedures. This OSHA rule is intended to provide a level of protection to workers exposed to lead in the construction industry. The interim final lead standard applies to any occupational exposure to lead in all construction work in which lead, in any amount, is present in an occupational context.

Figure 2--An example of a warning sign.

The rule requires:

• Written compliance plan and competent person(s)
• Initial exposure assessment and periodic exposure monitoring
• Task-related triggers, with interim protection during assessment
• Engineering, work practice, and administrative controls
• Respiratory protection program
• Protective clothing and equipment
• Housekeeping
• Hygienic facilities and practices
• Medical surveillance
• Medical removal protection
• Hazard communication programs and training on specific operations causing lead exposure
• Warning signs (Fig. 2)
• Recordkeeping
• Observation of monitoring.

You may obtain more information on lead exposure in construction by calling OSHA at (202)219-4667.

40 CFR Part 745, Lead--Requirements for Lead-Based Paint Activities in Target Housing and Child-Occupied Facilities, Final Rule. This regulation ensures that individuals conducting lead-based paint projects in target housing (housing built before 1978) and facilities occupied by children are properly trained and certified, that training programs providing instruction in such activities are accredited, and that these activities are conducted according to reliable, effective, and safe standards. Target housing is any housing constructed before 1978, except housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities, or any dwelling without any bedrooms. A child-occupied facility is defined as a building, or portion of a building, constructed before 1978, visited by the same child, 6 years of age or under, on at least two different days within any week, provided that each day's visit last at least 3 hours, the combined weekly visit lasts at least 6 hours, and the combined annual visits last at least 60 hours.

This rule applies to those buildings owned by the Forest Service that children frequent regularly (for instance, rental homes, daycare facilities, and schools). Persons conducting lead-based paint inspections, risk assessments, and abatement at these sites must have been trained by accredited trainers, according to the stipulations of the rule. In most cases, this work will be done by contractors who must be able show training records for their personnel.

40 CFR Part 261--Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This regulation mandates that solid waste generators determine whether their waste streams should be classified as "hazardous wastes." Wastes that are deemed hazardous must be properly stored, treated, and disposed of in accordance with RCRA. One of the characteristics that defines a hazardous waste is the amount of certain toxic constituents (metals like lead) that can leach from the waste. RCRA defines the analytical method to be used to evaluate the waste and also stipulates the limits that a constituent (like lead) is allowed to leach. This analytical method is called the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). For lead, the threshold for which waste is considered hazardous is 5 parts per million (milligrams/Liter).

While hazardous waste management must meet Federal standards, most States are authorized by the EPA to administer the basic RCRA hazardous waste program. Those dealing with hazard control management should observe the Federal, State, and local regulations. You may call the RCRA hotline at 1-800-424-9346 for more information.

Next in the Lead-Based Paint Series...

Lead-Based Paint: Disclosure of Known Hazards will be a more detailed description of the requirement for disclosure of known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards upon sale or lease of residential property.

Hard copies of this document may be ordered from:

USDA Forest Service
Missoula Technology & Development Center
Building 1, Fort Missoula
Missoula, MT 59804-7294
Phone: (406) 329-3900
Fax: (406) 329-3719

For further technical information, contact Andy Trent at the address above.

Phone: (406) 329-3912
Fax: (406) 329-3719
DG: A.Trent:R01A
E-mail: /s=a.trent/ou1=r01a@mhs-fswa.attmail.com

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