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Renovate Right
by Karen Yu
San Francisco has always been at the forefront of protecting the environment and its residents. In the late 1990s, the San Francisco Building Code began requiring lead-safe work methods for any interior or exterior renovation work that affects painted surfaces. Owners must assume that paint layers older than 1979 contain lead (unless tested otherwise), send notifications to affected parties, enclose the work area to minimize the spread of lead-contaminated paint dust, and clean the work area to pass a visual inspection. For more than 10 years, San Francisco property owners have been requiring handymen, contractors and renovators who work in San Francisco to include lead-safe work methods in their scope of work.
Thus, it will be easy for San Francisco property owners to comply with the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (Section 402(c)(3) of the Toxic Substances Control Act), which went into effect on April 22, 2010. This federal law applies to renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978.
Qualification of Workers and Firms
From now on, your renovation projects and repairs must be performed by certified firms that use certified workers. This is the most significant change for San Francisco property owners. It is a radical change because it means that your building maintenance personnel and your property management company must be certified.
The renovation and repair companies and workers will need EPA credentials. At this point, lead professionals with a lead certification from the California Department of Public Health will not be able to legally do your routine repair and renovation jobs. (However, California certified supervisors and workers must be used for lead abatement projects, where the purpose of your work is to remove lead hazards. EPA-certified renovators and firms cannot do abatement work.)
As a property owner, you should hold your contractor and maintenance personnel responsible for their certifications and work methods. The San Francisco Department of Public Health recently received a phone call from a concerned mother informing us that a contractor drilling during a renovation had contaminated her child’s car seat. The health inspector had no choice but to suggest that she make a complaint to the Department of Building Inspection for unsafe lead work practices.
Under the current San Francisco Building Code, you have been notifying your tenants of upcoming renovation work at least three days before the start of the project by giving them the EPA booklet, “Protecting Your Family from Lead in Your Home.” Now, you or your certified renovator/firm must notify your tenants using a new booklet, “Renovate Right.”
Lead-Safe Work Methods
San Francisco property owners who have been complying with the San Francisco Building Code during construction work that disturbs paint have already been complying with the major work-practice requirements in the new EPA law. Property owners are not required to test the paint for lead, unless they would like to prove that the paint does not contain lead. You and your contractors must assume that paint on buildings built before 1978 contain lead and perform the work accordingly. The property owner will need to assure that the certified firm posts warning signs on the job site, restricts tenants from the work areas, and contains the work area in a way that prevents dust and debris from spreading beyond the work areas.
At the conclusion of each job, the certified firm must clean the work area to remove any visible debris and dust. You are not required to pay for laboratory dust testing, but the certified firm must verify that the clean-up was effective by doing a visual wipe test and comparing the dust level on your property to a standard provided by the EPA.
San Francisco property owners and managers must take into consideration federal, state and local laws when doing work that disturbs lead-based paint. Combining all three sets of requirements, the table below describes what property owners will need to do in each situation. If you own properties in other counties, please consult the local lead poisoning prevention or building departments.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Karen Yu is the senior environmental health inspector with the Children’s Environmental Health Promotion Program in the San Francisco Department of Public Health. She can be contacted at Karen.Yu@sfdph.org. Copyright © 2010 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.