Lead Awareness





RENOVATING YOUR HOUSE?

BEFORE YOU START, CHECK FOR LEAD, FOR YOUR CHILD'S SAKE!

Did you know that most homes built before 1980 contain lead paint?  Common household sources of lead are painted or varnished surfaces such as:

BEFORE REMOVING LEAD PAINT, CONSIDER SAFETY FIRST...

Removing lead paint is dangerous and can cause increased lead exposure to workers and to children. You may want to find experienced and trained professionals to do the work. If you or someone else does the work, take precautions to prevent lead paint dust from contaminating the air, the inside of the home or the soil outside. Capture all lead dust and debris and be sure it gets to a secure landfill. Children, adults with high blood pressure, and pregnant women should be kept out of the work area until the work is done and the area has been thoroughly cleaned.

PREFERRED METHODS FOR LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION

INTERIM CONTROLS (Management in place)

An Interim Controls (IC) program for lead based paint (LISP) includes all of the following elements:

  1. An initial inspection of all surfaces to determine a priority for action,

  2. An initial cleaning of surfaces with loose paint chips or lead dust,

  3. Vacuum with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtered vacuum if available. If the HEPA vacuum is not available, repeat the cleaning procedure (see reverse side) 2 times,

  4. At a minimum, repaint or recover the exposed surface with an airtight sealant (sheet rock, heavy enamel-like paint plaster, etc.);

  5. Periodic inspections of the surfaces. Appropriate remedial action is required if further deterioration of the Lead-based paint is evident & the area cannot be maintained in good condition.

Whoever conducts the IC activity should change their clothes & shower prior to any contact with children, pregnant women, or their belongings. If you can't keep the LISP in good condition, you should consider an ABATEMENT activity such as one of the following methods.

  1. ENCAPSULATE: Cover surface area with liquid material that when dry, will provide a permanent coating. DO NOT use on surfaces such as door jambs or window sash/sash tracks where there is friction & lead dust could be generated.      

  2. ENCLOSURE: Cover surface area with a solid material to create an airtight barrier. Examples include but are not limited to: 

    1. Cover interior walls or ceilings with wallboard or paneling.

    2. Cover exterior walls with vinyl or aluminum siding.

    3. Cover window sash tracks with vinyl or aluminum slides.

    4. Cover window wells with durable products (sheet metal or fiberglass cloth and adhesive).

    5. Cover floors with plywood or linoleum and stairs with rubber tread and metal edges.

    6. Cover lead painted non-friction surfaces with durable products such as fiberglass tape.

    At the completion of the process a cleanable surface should remain in the event that lead dust is found later

  3. REMOVE: Remove the Lead-based paint from the surface. This can be done on site or, more preferably, off site. On site options include using a carpenter's plane, wet scraping, wet sanding, or the limited use of chemical strippers. Off site removal involves taking the Lead-based paint covered component out of the house and wet scraping or using chemical stripping in dunk tanks to remove the Lead-based paint from the larger building components such as doors or windows.

  4. REPLACE: This is the safest strategy. Remove a Lead-based paint building component & replace it with a new surface material. This can be cost effective when replacing old doors & windows with energy efficient ones. At the completion of the process a cleanable surface should remain in the event that lead dust is found later.

Replace windows, windowsills, doors, porch or stair railings, banisters or other woodwork or trim with new unpainted products.

AVOID UNSAFE METHODS OF LEAD BASED PAINT REMOVAL

Any method that attempts to remove lead paint from the underlying surface is dangerous. The following methods are especially hazardous & tend to create high lead dust levels. Therefore, they are not recommended.

  1. Open flame torches,

  2. Heat guns,

  3. Uncontrolled electric grinding,

  4. Uncontrolled sandblasting or sanding.

Removal can be conducted on the entire surface or just at the friction points where old LBP rubs together such as along the outer edge of a window sash as it rides up and down against the stops & parting beads, or on the leading edge of the door as it strikes the door stop. At the completion of the process a cleanable surface should remain in the event that lead dust is found later.

ANY OF THE LISTED ABATEMENT OPTIONS SHOULD BE PRECEDED WITH AN INITIAL CLEANUP OF ALL LOOSE, CHALKING, CHIIPPING, CRACKING OR PEELING PAINT, & LEAD DUST. AT THE END OF THE WORKING DAY ALL PAINT DEBRIS SHOULD BE CLEANED UP & NOT ALLOWED TO DRY & CREATE LEAD DUST. ALL PAINT CHIPS & DUST SHOULD BE KEPT WET DURING THE INITIAL & FINAL CLEAN-UP PROCESS.

ALL ABATEMENT SHOULD BE EVALUATED WITH A DUST WIPE TEST AT THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT TO DETERMINE IF THE AREA IS SAFE TO RE-OCCUPY. SAMPLES CAN BE TAKEN BY THE BUILDING OCCUPANTS, A PROFESSIONAL LEAD CONSULTANT, A CITY BUILDING INSPECTOR, OR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT STAFF.

HEPA VACUUM USE IS RECOMMENDED FOR LEAD PAINT CHIPS AND LEAD DUST CLEANUP.

Contact your Health Department for information on the nearest HEPA Vacuum available for loan.

CLEAN-UP IS CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF ANY LEAD PAINT PROJECT

Children in homes where lead is removed improperly often become lead poisoned.

A simple low cost option is to wet down leaded paint and wet scrape it off in large pieces. This method is safer than the methods which generate small dust particles. If you do remove lead paint, cleanup thoroughly as you work, use a HEPA Vac if possible. The following are directions for mixing a phosphate based soap solution for cleaning up lead dust and paint chips.

  1. PREPARATION PHASE

    1. Gather the following items:

      1. Two (2) spray bottles,

      2. Paper towels or disposable rags,

      3. Plastic garbage bag,

      4. Automatic (powdered) dishwashing detergent that contains greater the 5.0% Phosphates,

      5. Liquid dish washing detergent (that cuts through grease) such as Dawn, Palmolive or Joy.

      6. Latex or rubber gloves,

      7. 1 cup measuring container,

      8. Flat putty knife or spatula,

      9. large buckets,

      10. Sponge.

    2.  Children & animals should not be present during clean-up.

    3.  Do not eat, drink, chew gum/tobacco or smoke at any time during this procedure.

  2. MIXING PHASE FOR PHOSPHATE SOLUTION

    1. The amount of powdered detergent used depends on how bad the dust problem is or the amount of paint chips present. The following guidelines should be used:

      1. Use a small amount, 1/8 cup of powdered detergent to 1 gallon of water for light cleaning.

      2. Mix 1/4-1/2 cup of powdered detergent per 1 gallon of water for very dirty areas.

      3. Mix 1 - 11/2 (or more) cup of powdered detergent per 1 gallon of water for use as a paint stripper.

    2. Pour dissolved soap water into one of the 2 spray bottles; use latex gloves.

    3. Put warm water into other bucket and pour some into the other spray bottle.

  3.  APPLICATION/CLEAN-UP PHASE

    1. Wear latex gloves during entire work.

    2. HEPA-Vacuum (if available) surfaces first to remove loose peeling & chipping paint.

    3. Mist surfaces that are to be cleaned with soap water.

    4. Wipe wet surface with paper towel or rags. Use I rag per surface area, such as I per window well.

    5. Spray area with clean water from the other spray bottle. Wipe away water with towel or rag (use separate rag or sponge for each rinse, don't use wash rag for the rinse phase).

    6. Repeat procedure until no residue is present.

    7. Use sponge for clean rinsing large areas or for adding large amounts of rinse water.

    8. Allow surfaces to dry then HERA-Vacuum once more.

    9. Use putty knife to pry off loose paint chips.

    10. Pick up & place loose chips & paper towels or rags in a plastic bag with the normal garbage.

    11. Waste soap water should be flushed down the toilet.

If you prefer to have a person who has had lead-based paint clean-up and removal training, call the Wisconsin Division of Health (DOH) at (608) 267-0928 for a list of contractors. For additional information regarding lead-based paint abatement options, call the Division of Health at (608)266-5817, (608) 266-5885, (608)266-7897, or a DOH Regional Office at:

POH 4529 Revised – 1/95