Lead paint recommendation

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1

Originally Posted By: tschlotter
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Anyone have any good ideas as to what to list on the report regarding the possibility of lead paint in a pre-1978 house? While I am not specifically testing for lead, and I do have a paragraph in my inspection contract stating that I am not performing or liable for environmental testing I am considering putting something in the report warning of the possibility of lead in the home.


Anyone have a sample paragraph they'd like to share?

Tom Schlotter
www.Allied123.com

2

Originally Posted By: dvalley
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Lead was used in paint because it lasted forever in the environment and never broke down into a harmless substance. The amount of lead in paint was reduced in 1950 and further reduced again in 1978. Houses built before 1950 are very likely to contain lead paint while houses built after 1950 will have less lead in the paint. House paint sold today has very low levels of lead.


Lead dust is released from chipping and peeling paint; home renovation projects that disturb lead paint; and lead paint ground up by friction, such as on window sashes, porch floors, etc. Because children naturally engage in hand-to-mouth activities, they are more likely to accidentally ingest lead.


Over many years, painted surfaces usually crumble into household dust. This dust clings to toys, fingers and other objects that children normally put into their mouths. This is the most common way that lead gets into your child. Children also get lead into their bodies by chewing on lead painted surfaces.
Some young children even eat paint chips that are peeling or chipping. The taste is what makes them come back for more. Believe it or not, Lead paint taste sweet, so children and pets are attracted to the taste of lead paint. In accordance with Massachusetts law, any unit or single family home with an occupant who is less than six years old must be deleaded.

Testing For lead paint
To determine the presence of lead in paint, dust, water, and soil is best done by trained professionals. Massachusetts requires all lead inspectors to be state-certified.

Professional testing companies use three basic methods to measure lead in paint:
1) X-ray fluorescence (XRF) uses portable detectors that X-ray a painted surface to measure the amount of lead in all the layers of paint. This type of testing is done in the home and disturbs little, if any, paint.

2) Laboratory testing of paint samples involves removing samples of paint from each surface to be tested, usually from an area of about two square inches. Samples are sent to laboratories for analysis. This method leaves a bare spot on each surface tested.

3) Spot checks are performed with swabs. Swabs do not tell you how much lead is present and their reliability at detecting low levels of lead has not been determined. Professional testing for lead in paint is recommended.

--
David Valley
MAB Member

Massachusetts Certified Home Inspections
http://www.masscertified.com

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

3

Originally Posted By: lkage
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In Michigan the seller, whether listing with a Realtor or selling for sale by owner, is required to include a “Lead Based Paint Disclosure”.


Even though my contract excludes lead paint, among other things, the "Lead Based Paint Disclosure" puts the buyer on notice for the potential. Your state may have the same requirement.

--
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Galileo Galilei

4

Originally Posted By: tschlotter
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David,


Looks good. Question: what is the recommendation? Are you recommending further research on the subject, recommending testing by a licensed firm, or just leaving it in the buyer's court as to what to do?

Tom Schlotter
www.Allied123.com

5

Originally Posted By: dvalley
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.




Under Massachusetts and federal law, this notification package must be given to buyers and tenants with an option to buy homes built before 1978. This package must be given in full to meet state and federal requirements. It may be copied, as long as the type size is not made smaller. Every seller and any real estate agent involved in the sale must give this package before the signing of a purchase and sale agreement, a lease with an option to purchase, or, under state law, a memorandum of agreement used in foreclosure sales. Sellers and agents must also tell the buyer or tenant with an option to buy any information they know about lead in the home. They must also give a copy of any lead inspection report, risk assessment report, Letter of Compliance or Letter of Interim Control. This package is for compliance with both state and federal lead notification requirements.


PROPERTY TRANSFER NOTIFICATION CERTIFICATION

This form is to be signed by the prospective purchaser before signing a purchase and sale agreement or a memorandum of agreement, or by the lessee-prospective purchaser before signing a lease with an option to purchase for residential property built before 1978, for compliance with federal and Massachusetts lead-based paint disclosure requirements.

Required Federal Lead Warning Statement:

Every purchaser of any interest in residential property on which a residential dwelling was built prior to 1978 is notified that such property may present exposure to lead from lead-based paint that may place young children at risk of developing lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in young children may produce permanent neurological damage, including learning disabilities, reduced intelligence quotient, behavioral problems and impaired memory. Lead poisoning also poses a particular risk to pregnant women. The seller of any interest in residential real property is required to provide the buyer with any information on lead-based paint hazards from risk assessments or inspections in the seller's possession and notify the buyer of any known lead-based paint hazards. A risk assessment or inspection for possible lead-based paint hazards is recommended prior to purchase.


Seller's Disclosure

(a) Presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards (check (i) or (ii) below):

(i) _____ Known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards are present in the housing (explain).

(ii) _____ Seller has no knowledge of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing.

(b) Records and reports available to the seller (check (i) or (ii) below).

(i) _____ Seller has provided the purchaser with all available records and reports pertaining to lead-basect paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing (circle documents below).

Lead Inspection Report; Risk Assessment Report; Letter of Interim Control; Letter of Compliance

(ii) _____ Seller has no reports or records pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing.

Purchaser's or Lessee Purchaser's Acknowledgment (initial)

(c) _____ Purchaser or lessee purchaser has received copies of all documents circled above.
(d) _____ Purchaser or lessee purchaser has received no documents.
(e) _____ Purchaser or lessee purchaser has received the Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification.
(f) _____ Purchaser or lessee purchaser has (check (i) or (ii) below):

(i) _____ received a I 0-day opportunity (or mutually agreed upon period) to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards; or
(ii) _____ waived the opportunity to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead- based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards.

Agent's Acknowledgment (initial)

(g) _____ Agent has informed the seller of the seller's obligations under federal and state law for lead-based paint disclosure and notification, and is aware of his/her responsibility to ensure compliance.
(h) _____ Agent has verbally informed purchaser or lessee-purchaser of the possible presence of dangerous levels of lead in paint, plaster, putty or other structural materials and his or her obligation to bring a property into compliance with the Massachusetts Lead Law - either through full deleading or interim control - if it was built before 1978 and a child under six years old resides or will reside in the property.

Certification of Accuracy

The following parties have reviewed the information above and certify, to the best of their knowledge, that the information they have provided is true and accurate.

__________________ __________
Seller / Date

__________________ __________
Purchaser / Date

__________________ __________
Agent / Date

Address of Property / Unit _______________________________________________

CLPPP Form 94-3,6/30/94, Rev. 5/98


In spite of this disclosure...Often My clients ask if I can do a lead check. I tell them that if the home was built before 1978, it's bound to have Lead. I also inform them that I can do a simple swab check, but nothing is officially reported.

--
David Valley
MAB Member

Massachusetts Certified Home Inspections
http://www.masscertified.com

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

6

Originally Posted By: mpettitt
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Thomas, just got around to reading your post. If you’d like something short and simple you might try this:


Lead based paint was in use until approximately 1978. According to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a lead hazard can be present in a house of this age. This can only be confirmed by laboratory analysis. If you did not have us test for lead in paint, you may want to contact the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) for more information and guidance, and a list of testing labs in your area.

7

Originally Posted By: tschlotter
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Looks good, thanks.

8

Originally Posted By: Caoimh?n P. Connell
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Hello Gents ?


Just to reaffirm something so things stay on track. Lead based paints have not been banned in private residential properties on a national level. They were not banned in private residential properties 1978, or any other year (on a national level).

Local and State-specific building jurisdictions notwithstanding, tomorrow, I could go down to my local hardware store, buy lead based paint, and paint my living room with it.

I used to teach a LBP testing and abatement course through a local community college. For our field exercise, I had a large wall whose undercoat consisted of a quilt work of LBPs. Some of the students were astonished to learn how we got hold of our LBP ? just walked into Ace Hardware and bought it off the shelf.

Food for thought.
Cheers,
Caoimh?n P. Connell
www.forensic-applications.com

<SMALL> (The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG </SMALL>

9

Originally Posted By: jnosworthy
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Mr. Connell,


I know better than to tangle with the experts, and I sense that you must be THE mold expert, but you’ve confused me on your lead paint response. Since you taught a lead class, wouldn’t it have been a better answer to state "since 1978 lead has been banned as an ingredient in the manufacture of paints in the US, in excess of 0.5%. ? Honestly, I know I can still find industrial paint with lots of lead in it at one of several local boat builders. But seriously, I can’t find any lead content in the paint cans on the shelves of my local Ace hardware. What year did you teach that class? Would you get the same result today if you walked in with that same intention ?? Which begs the question, if you found and purchased and used some paint with 0.5% lead content, would that paint then give you a POSITIVE XRF response, using the EPA’s guidelines of 1.0 mg/cm2 ?


What do you think ?

10

Originally Posted By: Caoimh?n P. Connell
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Hello Mr. Nosworthy:


Actually, I am not a ?mould expert? per se, rather I am an expert in industrial hygiene which encompasses a lot of different areas. Just like you are an home inspector and very knowledgeable in many, many aspects of construction ? and although true, it would probably be inappropriate to exclusively refer to you as an expert in foundations (although you undoubtedly have considerable expertise in foundations, and would likely be called upon to give expert witness testimony in foundation issues).

Having said that ? although I get involved in lead quite a bit, it is from a toxicological perspective, and it has been a few years since I performed residential lead inspections. I taught the lead classes up to about 1993 or there abouts. Nevertheless you ask:

??, wouldn't it have been a better answer to state "since 1978 lead has been banned as an ingredient in the manufacture of paints in the US, in excess of 0.5%. ??

Answer: No, because the statement is not correct. Lead was not banned in from paint at a level of 0.5% in 1978 as you assert. Rather, in 1978, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission banned lead at a concentration of 0.06% from some paints. However, many LBPs were not banned and the exemption was not limited to exclusively ?industrial paints? or paints used on boats. Rather, 16 CFR ?1303 identified many paints that could still contain very high levels of lead (well above 50% in some cases) provided that the manufacturer simply identified the paint on the label as containing lead. Such paints even included consumer paints used for ?touch-up? (usually indicating that the cans were smaller).

Focus on the lead issue continued well into the next decade and in 1992, the Housing and Community Development Act became law. Title X of that law was called the ?Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992.? That Act amended the US EPA Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) adding Title IV ?Lead Exposure Reduction? which referenced the 0.5% value that you mentioned. The Act focused attention on controlling the most significant lead paint hazards but was limited to target housing. In any event, the effective date for the regulation was 1999! (The effective date was established in 1996, when TSCA Section 402 became codified in 40 CFR ?745). Further, as I mentioned, it only applied to target housing which essentially meant any housing constructed prior to 1978, except housing for the disabled or elderly with an handful of exceptions and conditions inserted to keep ?experts? like me in business by interpreting all this stuff. In any event, (again), the rules didn?t even apply to target housing under many, many normal situations (such as during renovations impacting less than 2 ft2, etc). It was 40 CFR ?745 (but Subpart L?Lead-Based Paint Activities ) that the now famous definition of LBP gained its current value of 0.5% by weight. But remember, that only became effective in 1999 (although it had been referenced in 1992).

That you may have difficulty in finding LBPs in your local Ace Hardware, probably speaks more to your demographics than regulatory control. I can still purchase LBPs in large quantities and use it to paint my interior window sills if my wife approves of the colour.

You ask:
Would you get the same result today if you walked in with that same intention ??

Answer: I don?t understand the question.

You ask:
??if you found and purchased and used some paint with 0.5% lead content, would that paint then give you a POSITIVE XRF response, using the EPA's guidelines of 1.0 mg/cm2 ?

Answer: The simple answer is ?Yes? but the real answer is ?It depends.? It depends on several things. First of all, lead by weight and lead by area are not equivalent. Although the HUD guidelines uses both, the different units were included to ensure that whichever analytical technique was used, there would be a regulatory limit that would accommodate the result. There is no direct correlation between lead expressed as percent by weight on a wall and lead as expressed as mg per unit area. It also depends on the instrument. I have used different XRFs and XRDs and some use K line, other K alpha, others L line, others have tight discriminators (some have no discriminators) and gamma sources weaken with time. Further, the depth of the paint containing the lead can also effect the reading. So there is a lot more involved. That is why the readings were simplified into essentially ?pass/fail? readings.

Finally, there was no attempt to differentiate bioavailability of the lead; all lead was grouped into the same bioavailability regardless of its actual bioavailability. As such completely ?risk-free? lead situations were treated exactly the same as ?high risk potential? situations based exclusively on "total lead."

The practical upshot is that LBPs can definitely be found in houses built in 2004. It?s kind of like the huge public misconception of the Federal asbestos phase-out/rule-out ban ? which managed to exclusively ban children?s clothes that contained asbestos. The only reason that portion of the ?ban? was permitted to remain in effect, was because there were NO children?s clothing products on the market anyway that contained asbestos. I was involved in one project wherein the property owner spent thousands of $$$$ on asbestos abatement removing ceiling spray that contained 3% asbestos. They then hired a contractor to come back in and respray acoustical ceiling material ? he did: it contained 5% asbestos! The building owner tried to sue; they thought asbestos was banned and the contractor had violated federal regs. The contractor won, since he had not violated any regulations and the building owner never specified that the spray back had to be asbestos free. (By the way the asbestos ban is different from the AHERA).

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Caoimh?n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
www.forensic-applications.com

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

11

Originally Posted By: jwilliams4
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Mr Connell, I have enjoyed immensely your postings on this site.


You are very learned and I am so pleased that you will share so

much of what you have learned. Unfortunately, you have not

taught us how to speak Gaelic. How do you pronounce your first

name - phonetically?

--
"not just an inspection, but an education"

12

Originally Posted By: Caoimh?n P. Connell
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Mr. Williams ?


Thanks for taking a moment to respond. My name has several ?correct? pronunciations depending on where in Ireland the speaker hails. I say ?QUEE-veen? with the first syllable containing a kind of guttural sound not otherwise found in English. This is more common in the West of Ireland and in some of the areas around Dublin.

I?m glad that you enjoy the posts. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in your professional discussions.

Cheers,
Caoimh?n

13

Originally Posted By: jwilliams4
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Mr Connell,


I just booked an inspection for Saturday that will put me in a

crawlspace. I thought I knew a lot after 30 years of crawling

in the HVAC industry, but today I learned so much from your

posts - I'm gonna go in there and knock their socks off!

They're going to think I actually know something!!

Thanks again.

--
"not just an inspection, but an education"

14

Originally Posted By: jwilliams4
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


…and thanks for the pronunciation. My ancestry is Welsh and I


thought my grandmother talked funny...then there's the Irish...

--
"not just an inspection, but an education"

15

Originally Posted By: jnosworthy
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Mr. Connell,


Your phonetic spelling of your first name is not any help to me. “QUEE-veen” resembles a word from the Quechua indian dialect of the mountains of south america. Dare I ask … do your friends call you by a nickname ?


After reading some of your thoughts on mold, I wanted to ask if you had read Mold Warriors published a few months ago by Dr. Richie Shoemaker, from Pocomoke City, MD. ??

16

Originally Posted By: Caoimh?n P. Connell
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.


Hello Mr. Nosworthy ?


I am familiar with some of Mr. Shoemaker?s opinions on some issues (and as importantly, with whom he associates). He belongs to a very, very, very small minority of opinions which some say is junk science, and others just discount as kooky.

One of his colleagues, employed by the EPA, challenged me in a public internet forum some years ago and ended up having to post a very serious retraction and apology.

Until I have been asked (and paid) to review Mr. Shoemaker?s opinion on a particular case, I will reserve comment. In the mean time, I will stick to established science and leave the UFOs, little green men, and ?toxic moulds? to others.

Cheers,
Caoimh?n P. Connell
www.forensic-applications.com

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG