wtf is with this new EPA crap about lead?

[Wiglaf]

I don't know if this is just an ohio thing or what, but i just had some windows quoted and each one has an extra $65 "lead fee" on it because my house is old enough to have had lead paint, they will need to wrap the whole damn room and have someone running a shopvac with a certified filter in it.. I thought it was a scam but I guess drywallers and everyone are having to deal with this nonsense.

This is even worse than that asbestos nonsense.. all it's gonna do is make work cost more for people who are following the law.

[mar1t1me]

I'd demand to see a positive lead test before paying that one. Not hard to test for lead.

[Farbin Kaiber]

They are requiring it on all homes built before the cutoff. I think it's 76 or 78. Federally.

And, this ain't nothing. Just sit back and wait, like they want you to. If they have made this kind of stink about the possibilities of lead or asbestos, can you imagine when evil CO2 gets put on the real naughty list?

[z31maniac]

That's why I have one contractor I use to do work at my house.

No licensed or bonded, no receipts, pay in cash.

More brilliant work by the gov't.

[z31maniac]

all it's gonna do is make work cost more for people who are following the law.

This pretty much follows the trend of what gov't involvement does to business............I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

[nrubenstein]

Given how hideously poisonous lead is to children, this is not entirely unreasonable.

Mind you, there was an opt-out provision until it got challenged in court.

[Vedubin01]

This pretty much follows the trend of what gov't involvement does to business............I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

[mrsleeve]

I thought we had a thread about this but I can seem to find it. I have mentioned though.

The EPA now mandates you must be a certified lead abatement contractor to work on your own home if it was built before 79. You as working on your own home, have to take 600 dollar class and have it the cert renewed all the time to WORK ON YOUR OWN HOME. Or you can be fined 32k A DAY. Also the EPA is offering a 5k dollar bounty to turn in your neighbors for this.

[Wiglaf]

my house was built in 1908. I already gutted the 3rd floor and a few rooms, surely turning up everything that's been used and then banned in the last century.
I'm not paying a dime to the EPA over this, not now or ever.

[mrsleeve]

Found it on anther site, heres the 1st post, by a contractor.

This is the law that went into effect this April 22nd. Covers EVERYONE who does any kind of work in a residence built prior to 1978. Remodelers, contractors, handy-men, electricians, plumbers....you name it. Fines for non-compliance can be $32,500 per occurrence, per day. Not to mention almost unlimited liability dealing with misuse of hazardous materials.

I went ahead and got my RRP certification - mostly to have a first-hand chance to ask questions and find out the facts about this new law. I've got to tell you - it ain't good. The containment requirements are awkward, expensive and almost impossible to do. From what I have learned, I am changing the clients that our construction firm will deal with. We are only going to be taking clients with houses built after 1/1/78 or those older houses that I can test and get a negative result for lead content. It's going to cost me some business but the possible liability of working in an older home under these rules are just too great of a risk for me.

I would hope that this crazy ruling will be changed or repealed, but that's not likely. Not
only will this hit all of us in the trades, but the value of older homes with any lead will soon be just a small fraction of what they were a month or two ago. Flipping houses for a profit isn't going to happen anymore. Nor are most homeowners going to be able to afford renovations

Nuberstien: Ummm really how often do you have your baby in the room you are working on??? Have you ever scraped paint it comes off in chips and sheets, that you sweep up and there no lead. Its not like asbestos where it comes apart and makes a fuck load of dust, and lead is not that toxic unless you are getting HUGE doses of it. Its when the little bastards eat the chips is when its an issue. Really this is nothing more than a businees killing money maker for the govt. Its just a bunch of crap

[Vedubin01]

my house was built in 1908. I already gutted the 3rd floor and a few rooms, surely turning up everything that's been used and then banned in the last century.
I'm not paying a dime to the EPA over this, not now or ever.

what was that? A $5k reward for turning someone in for this exact thing?

LOL just kidding!

[ck_taft325is]

what was that? A $5k reward for turning someone in for this exact thing?

LOL just kidding!

I'm not.



This will effectively destroy small businesses all around the greater WA area, no to mention client's wallets. I know that if we're enforced to give a "$65" per window addition to our quote we're going to go from a modest bid to a fairly substantial amount of money really fast.

[pureaudio]

My mom, brother and I knocked the asbestos tiles off the side of our house when I was a kid with shovels and then took it to the dump. Fuck the EPA, I grew up in an old house that my crazy mom was always doing a renovation project on and amazingly my siblings and I grew up just fine in good health without the government having to step in and make money off the deal. It was good my parents lived out in the sticks, nobody would take that bounty if it had been offered then.

[nrubenstein]

If you are a homeowner performing renovation, repair, or painting work in your own home, EPA's RRP rule does not cover your project. However, you have the ultimate responsibility for the safety of your family or children in your care.

- The EPA

Let's start by getting the correct information here. You can still do any damned thing you want in your own home.

Also, if your house has been declared lead free, you are exempt. Obviously, you'll need that documented.

And finally, if you actually read the requirements, you'll see that they are not nearly as onerous as some of you folks make them out to be.

[u3b3rg33k]

So the lead mallet I use on my e30 really screws me, right? Should I stop rubbing my eyes after touching it, or should I be more concerned with the brakleen I use to degrease my hands / spot dryclean my clothes?