EPA lead training and certification

States must require contractors to be trained, certified, and licensed according to certain standards in order to abate (remove or otherwise control) lead paint. Specific types of contractors who do renovation and remodeling will also have to be trained and certified. If any state does not yet have a training and certification program in place by September 1998, the EPA will set up a program for that state by September 1999, out of its regional office. 

The second category of joint endeavor covers EPA certification mandates and work practices standards under Title IV of TSCA and Title X. This regulation requires EPA to establish mechanisms for training and certification of workers involved with risk assessment, paint inspections, or various forms of lead paint or lead paint hazard abatements. 

Therefore, a significant portion of an abatement contractor s training is focused on abatement techniques and selection of the appropriate course of action for a variety of hazards. Renovators, on the other hand, do not seek to permanently eliminate lead hazards. Renovators perform maintenance and improvement tasks as directed by the consumer. The goal of EPA s renovator training and certification program is not to update the methodology a renovator uses to accomplish these tasks, with the exception of the practices prohibited or restricted by this final rule, but rather to introduce containment and cleaning methods to minimize exposure to lead-based paint hazards created by the renovation activity. 

The EPA Lead Rule contains extensive information. This is why so many people have become frnstrated with it. This chapter has compiled key elements of training and certification. In the next chapter, we will look at work practices. 

EPA considered a wide variety of options for addressing the risks presented by renovation activities where lead-based paint is present. As part of the development of the renovation, repair, and painting program, EPA has considered different options for the scope of the rule, various combinations of training and certification requirements for individuals who perform... 

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