{"id":6451,"date":"2014-02-18T09:27:46","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T16:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unrbep.org\/?p=6451"},"modified":"2014-02-18T09:27:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T16:27:46","slug":"epa-takes-action-to-protect-public-from-harmful-lead-exposure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/epa-takes-action-to-protect-public-from-harmful-lead-exposure\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA TAKES ACTION TO PROTECT PUBLIC FROM HARMFUL LEAD EXPOSURE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted: February 18, 2014
\nSource: www.epa.gov\/lead<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON<\/strong> \u2013 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced enforcement actions that will require 35 home renovation contractors and training providers to take additional steps to protect communities by minimizing harmful lead dust from home renovation activities, as required by the EPA\u2019s Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Standards. These standards provide important, front-line protection for children and others vulnerable to exposure to lead dust that can cause lead poisoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies deserve the peace of mind that home renovations occur without harming children,\u201d said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA\u2019s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. \u201cBusinesses that play by the rules deserve to compete on a level playing field. EPA will continue to enforce the nation\u2019s lead rules to protect the public from illegal and dangerous lead exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The settlements, issued between May 2013 and January 2014, include 17 contractors that failed to obtain required certification prior to performing renovation activities on pre-1978 homes, where lead is more likely to be present. In addition, 21 settlements involve violations for failure to follow required lead-safe work practices, and three cases involve general contractors who failed to ensure their subcontractors followed the RRP standards.<\/p>\n

The enforcement actions, which all require contractors to certify compliance with the RRP standards, led to more than $274,000 in civil penalties.
\n
\nThree of the companies agreed to fund environmental projects to benefit communities. HarenLaughlin Construction and Exterior Energy Consultants will fund lead abatement work at local properties, while the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges will provide tuition-free, EPA accredited training courses to renovators expected to work on projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>\n

The RRP standards, which are part of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, are intended to ensure that owners and occupants of housing built before 1978 and child-occupied facilities receive information on lead-based paint hazards before renovations begin, that individuals performing such renovations are properly trained and certified by EPA, and that, during renovations, specific work practices are followed to reduce the potential for lead-based paint exposure.<\/p>\n

Contractors that are certified under EPA\u2019s RRP standards are encouraged to display EPA\u2019s \u201cLead-Safe\u201d logo on worker\u2019s uniforms, signs, websites, and other material, as appropriate. Consumers can protect themselves by looking for the logo before hiring a home contractor.<\/p>\n

Between May 2013 and January 2014, EPA has settled enforcement actions with the following companies:<\/p>\n

Environmental Engineering & Technology, Inc. of Newport News, VA
\nThe Training Network, Inc. of Oak Hill, VA
\nProfessional Training Associates, Inc. of Duquesne, PA
\nThe Home Hero, LLC of Philadelphia, PA
\nThermo-Twin Industries, Inc. of Oakmont, PA
\nSamuel M. Lewis of Columbus, OH
\nMidwest College Painters, LLC of Bloomfield, MI
\nD&S Construction of Western Ohio, LLC of Sidney, OH
\nM&J Environmental Institute of Maple Grove, MN
\nHannegan Construction Company of St. Charles, MO
\nHarenLaughlin Construction of Lenexa, KS
\nJason Madura of Warsaw, MO
\nNezerka Enterprises LLC d\/b\/a Certa Pro Painters of Shawnee Mission, KS
\nJames L. and Dona D. Jungers of Lincoln, NE
\nDennis Barker of Fairbury, NE
\nPainting Done Right of Lincoln, NE
\nPrudent Technologies, Inc. of Kansas City, MO
\nRothers Inc., d\/b\/a Rothers Design\/Build of Kansas City, KS
\nRitchie Enterprises, Inc. d\/b\/a Puroclean Emergency Restoration Services of Sullivan, MO
\nExterior Energy Consultants, Inc. of Gladstone, MO
\nPhilip Thornton and Stanley Thornton of Marshall, MO
\nVan Dyk Construction of Littleton, CO
\nDevex Construction LLC of Greenwood Village, CO
\nThomas Breuer Construction of Sioux Falls, SD
\nAlaska Commercial Contractors, Inc. of Juneau, AK
\nVanPool Painting, Inc. of Juneau, AK
\nKachina Contractor Solutions, LLC of Elkins Park, PA
\nCollegiate Entrepreneurs, Inc. of Braintree, MA
\nBill Vizzo Contractors, LLC of Shelton, CT
\nJames J. Welch & Co., Inc. of Salem, MA
\nNew Hampshire Plate Glass Corp. of Portsmouth, NH
\nDura-Plex, Inc. of Brick, NJ
\nHernandez Painting of Hempstead, NY
\nConsortium for Workforce and Economic Development \/ New Jersey Council of Community Colleges of Trenton, NJ
\nSchryer Thompson Construction, Inc. of Concord, CA<\/p>\n

More information about the settlements: http:\/\/www2.epa.gov\/enforcement\/lead-renovation-repair-and-painting-rule-february-2014<\/a><\/p>\n

More information about the RRP standards and how contractors can get certified: www.epa.gov\/lead<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted: February 18, 2014 Source: www.epa.gov\/lead WASHINGTON \u2013 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced enforcement actions that will require 35 home renovation contractors and training providers to take additional steps to protect communities by minimizing harmful lead dust from home renovation activities, as required by the EPA\u2019s Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) … Continue reading EPA TAKES ACTION TO PROTECT PUBLIC FROM HARMFUL LEAD EXPOSURE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[133,26,132],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6451"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6451"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6453,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6451\/revisions\/6453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}