Being EPA Lead Safe certified is a very important part of our job. This is an area where you would like your contractor to be knowledgeable , especially if you have children. If you live in a house built before 1940 there is a 98% chance your home has lead paint. If your house was built between 1940-59 it drops to a 73% chance your home has Lead Based Paint. if your home was built between 1960-77 it drops to 30%. Homes built after 1977 have a much lower chance of having LBP due to the fact it was no longer in manufacture after 1977. However there is still a possibility because you could bye an additive to make it lead based paint. You may ask yourself why this should concern you. Surely most of us have been living around this most of our lives. The truth about LBP is just now being told to the public at large. As bad as it can be for adults its even worse for kids.
Effects of Lead Exposure
Symptoms for adults include:
High blood pressure
Constipation
Joint pains
Muscle pain
Declines in mental functioning
Pain, numbness or tingling of the extremities
Memory loss
Headache
Mood disorders
Reduced sperm count, abnormal sperm
Miscarriage or premature birth in pregnant women.
For children the symptoms include :
Developmental delay
Learning difficulties
Irritability
Loss of appetite
Abdominal pain
Vomiting
Constipation
Hearing loss
Adults can process lead out of their body’s but children cannot. The damage that is done in children is not repairable and it is a very painful process to remove the lead. Even if you don’t have children a sloppy contractor can contaminate an entire city block with ease with out the proper precautions. Theses days the EPA are looking for such careless people. Whenever we work in home that was built before 1978 we have to test it for lead in the area we working in and document weather or not lead based paint is present. If it is found we take the necessary steps to contain the LBP.First we will build a self contained “bubble” to work in. Each employee working with in the containment zone will be wearing a Tyvek suit with a respirator using filters meant to block lead particles which can be finer than normal particulates. Once all of the loose Lead dust , flakes or other debris have been covered or other wise removed and the area thoroughly been cleaned the containment area is removed. Before work is completed another Lead test will be run to ensure all of the lead is in fact gone or covered. The home owner can greatly benefit from having someone with lead knowledge work on their home. This will ensure a safe clean working environment for the home owner as well as peace of mind that their home is clean. A home owner should always make sure that their carpenter is EPA Lead Certified. If the have taken the necessary courses it would be no problem to find out. All contractors who have completed the courses will be listed on the EPA’s web site.