Work Practice Standards

The certification must include the same information as the certification for delivery to occupants of target housing. See 40 C.F.R. 745.84(c)(l)(ii)(A). 

The preamble to the regulations state that only parents of children under six must receive these materials. 73 Fed. Reg. 21692,21702-03 (Apr. 22.2008). The regulations do not address the requirements in hospital and pediatric rehabilitation settings, but the facility administrator cannot share patient names under FIIPAA. the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Pub. L. 104-191 (1996). Presumably the facility administrator can provide the notifications. 

Practices that could disburse lead are prohibited. These include open flame burning or torching, and using a heat gun if it is 1100 degrees or hotter. Sanding, planing, and other practices that create dust are prohibited unless a HEPA filter is used to collect the dust.  

The regulations are designed to minimize lead poisoning from waste materials. Waste must be contained, and any chute used must be covered. At the end of each work day, waste must be contained or placed behind a barrier that prevents release of the waste and prevents access to the waste. Renovation waste must be contained while it is transported off-site.  

Very thorough cleaning is required when each renovation is complete.  

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Safety and Health Committee "Work Practices Standard for Raw Cotton Dust" American Textile Manufacturers Institute Charlotte,... 

Contractor certification and training rules were first put into effect in 1998. Those initial rules required lead paint professionals to be certified and trained and imposed an accreditation program for training programs, individual certifications for renovators, and specific work practice standards. ... 

There are work practice standards that must be employed in all lead-based paint activity. For example, for inspections, the regulations detail the minimum requirements including where to select paint samples to test, how to sample, how to test, what records to keep, and reports that must be prepared. 

Per Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation 29 CFR 1910.1450, Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories, is a written plan that includes specific work practices, standard operating procedures, equipment, engineering controls, and policies to ensure that employees are protected from hazardous exposure levels to all potentially hazardous chemicals in use in their work areas. The OSHA standard provides for training, employee access to information, medical consultations, examinations, hazard identification procedures, respirator use, and record-keeping practices. 

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. 

BDT also considers costs. NSPS can take the form of nmnerical emissions limits, design standards, equipment standards, or work practice standards. EPA enforces NSPS, but states can also impose their own NSPS. 

Subsection (a) (2) (b) includes, but is not limited to, the following situations 1) unlawful treatment of a hazardous waste when the resulting waste material is released into the environment 2) unlawful export or transportation of hazardous substances when it cannot be determined that it was properly disposed of 3) violations of work practice standards under the Clean Air Act 4) falsifications, knowing omissions or... 

Renovations must be performed by certified firms. The certification requirements for renovation firms are identical to the certification requirements for firms that perform lead-based paint activities, except that renovation firm certification lasts for 5 years instead of 3 years. A firm that wishes to become certified to perform renovations must submit an appUcation, along with the correct amount of fees, attesting that it will assign a certified renovator to each renovation that it performs, that it will use only certified or properly trained individuals to perform renovations, and that it will follow the work practice standards and recordkeeping requirements in this regulation. 

At a minimum, the program requirements must include accredited training for renovators and procedures and requirements for recertification. State, territorial, and tribal programs applying for authorization are also required to include work practice standards for renovations that ensure that renovations are conducted only by certified renovators or renovation firms and that renovations are conducted using work practices at least as protective as those of the Federal program. 

There are some slight revisions between the 2006 Proposal and this final rule, although none of these changes add to or detract from the renovator s responsibilities. First, the Proposal used both the term lead-safe work practices and work practices in the preamble and in the proposed rule text. Although the work practices required in this final rule are lead-safe, for purposes of clarity, the final rule text has been changed to work practices. The reason for this change was to make text of the rule relating the renovator s responsibilities consistent with other provisions in the rule, particularly 40 CFR 745.85 (Work Practice Standards). 

Today s work practices are lead-safe work practices. The work practice standards listed in 745.85(a) are the same tasks that the other workers will be directed in and trained to do by the certified renovator (except for cleaning verification). In addition, the term lead-safe work practices has different meanings in different contexts, and this change is to make clear that the work practices required by this final rule are the work practices required in 745.85(a). 

After consideration of these commenters concerns, EPA has concluded that OJT is sufficient for training some renovation employees. The work practice standards of this final rule are not complex or difficult to institute, and those activities critical to ensuring the lead-safe outcome of the project are either conducted by certified renovators or directed by certified renovators. The remainder of the project is often just the renovation itself, and EPA was careful when developing these final work practices to minimize the effect on the way typical renovations are conducted. With the exception of the prohibition of certain unsafe practices, renovation methods are unaffected by this rule. For example, the work practices of this final rule do not affect the method a firm would employ to replace a window. 

Some commenters questioned the need for firm certification, while others, including industry representatives, supported it. The agency believes that firm certification is necessary for several reasons. First, certification is an important tool for the agency s enforcement program. To become certified, a firm acknowledges its responsibility to use appropriately trained and certified employees and follow the work practice standards set forth in the final rule. This is especially important under this final rule, since the certified renovator is not required to perform or be present during all of the renovation activities. Under these circumstances, it is important for the firm to acknowledge... 

This final rule incorporates work practice standards generally derived from the HUD Guidelines, EPA s draft technical specifications for renovations, and the model training curriculum entitled Lead Safety for Remodeling, Repair, and Painting. ... 

To reduce exposure to lead-based paint hazards created by renovation activities, the work practices standards in this regulation provide basic requirements for occupant protection, site preparation, and cleanup. 

In the absence of a practical, effective way of determining how much lead dust has been added to a carpet and whether it has been fully removed, EPA is adopting a technology-based approach for carpets that differs from the approach used for hard-surfaced floors, by requiring use of a HEPA vacuum with a beater bar. EPA is not aware of, and commenters have not identified, a practicable approach similar to the one EPA has adopted for floors as a basis to evaluate the results of the application of work practice standards to carpets. In the absence of such an approach, EPA believes the approach adopted in the final rule is the most effective, reliable approach available for minimizing potential lead-based paint hazards in carpets created by renovations. 

EPA interprets the statutory directive to take into account safety when promulgating work practice standards as meaning that such work practice standards should be established in relation to lead-based paint hazards—as identified pursuant to TSCA section 403. There is no level of lead exposure that can yet be clearly identified, with confidence, as clearly not being associated with potentially increased risk of deleterious health effects. EPA does not believe the intent of Congress was to require elimination of all possible risk arising from a renovation, nor is EPA aware of a method that could reliably and effectively accomplish this. 

The proposed rule required the use of a HEPA vacuum as part of the work practice standards for renovation activities. One commenter stated that EPA did not have sufficient evidence showing that HEPA vacuums are significantly better at removing lead dust than non-HEPA vacuums. EPA has determined that the weight of the evidence provided by the studies it reviewed demonstrates that the HEPA vacuums consistently removed significant quantities of lead-based paint dust and reduced lead loadings to lower levels then did other vacuums. While there may be some vacuum cleaners that are as effective as HEPA vacuums, EPA has not been able to define quantitatively the specific attributes of those vacuums. That is, EPA is not able to identify what criteria should be used to identify vacuums that are equivalent to HEPA vacuums in performance. Thus, EPA does not believe that it can identify in the final rule what types of vacuums can be used as substitutes for HEPA vacuums. Therefore, EPA has not adopted this alternative. 

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