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EPA ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FAMILIES WITH INFORMATION ON LEAD HAZARDS DURING RENOVATION AND REMODELING ACTIVITIES
Release Date: 05/22/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 22, 1998
EPA ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FAMILIES WITH INFORMATION ON LEAD HAZARDS DURING RENOVATION AND
REMODELING ACTIVITIES
REMODELING ACTIVITIES
EPA is issuing final regulations to provide consumers with information about lead-based paint hazards when renovation or remodeling activities are conducted in their homes. The new rules will require renovators, who are working for compensation, to give homeowners and tenants information on how to protect their family from lead hazards in the home. The information must be provided before renovation work begins. A federal pamphlet on lead hazards in the home has been developed for renovators to use. Renovation activities conducted in homes built before 1978 and that disturb more than 2 square feet of paint are subject to the rule. It is estimated that approximately 80 percent of all residential dwellings built before 1978 contain some lead-based paint. Although it can usually be safely managed and maintained, when lead-based paint is disturbed during renovation it can contaminate dust and soil and pose a significant hazard, especially to young children. Almost one million children under the age of 6 have unsafe levels of lead in their bodies, making lead poisoning the number one environmental health hazard for young children. The new rule becomes effective by June 1999. Copies of the rule and a federal pamphlet on lead based paint hazards in the home are available on EPA’s website at: https://www.epa.gov/lead or by calling 1-800-424-LEAD. R-69 ###
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