WORKING SAFELY WITH LEAD-BASED PAINT

by Catherine Brooks, Eco-Strip

HISTORY

Until recently contractors, homeowners, and the general public in the U.S. had little knowledge of the dangers around them as they worked on older buildings. Many who worked on buildings from the 19th and early 20th century knew that the lead commonly used as a binder and colorant in old paint could poison them. In 1971, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency (HUD) enacted laws to reduce lead in house dust in federally-assisted housing. It wasn’t until 1978 that the US outlawed the manufacture and application of lead-based paint. Most European countries had done so decades before.

The New RRP Law

Homeowners who renovate, remodel, or even paint their old homes using contractors now have greater health and safety protection from the EPA. An EPA law called “Renovation, Repair, and Painting” (RRP) enacted on April 22, 2010 offers stronger assurance to homeowners that their contractors will work safely in and around their homes and neighborhoods regarding lead-based paint. The RRP law provides protection for building occupants beyond what federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) laws provide workers.

The RRP law puts the responsibility for protection on the contractors, not on the homeowners. Contractor companies who work in areas where lead-based paint is present (usually in pre-1978 buildings) must be EPA-registered as Lead-Safe Certified Firms. In addition, they must have at least one staff member who is a Certified Renovator. This person receives 8 intensive hours of classroom and hands-on training in lead-safe work practices. The Certified Renovator, in turn, must train and closely supervise all other workers doing electrical, plumbing, paint removal, carpentry, window replacement or any other work which disturbs more than 6 sq.ft. of lead-based paint. Work areas must be posted with warning signs. Building occupants must be notified of the dangerous work.

What is the big deal about lead based paint?

Lead gets into the body when it is swallowed as dust or chips or breathed as fumes. Once in the body, it can have dangerous effects on human health and development, especially for children. Lead poisoning damages the nervous system and causes developmental and behavioral problems which can affect children for their lifetimes. Exposed pregnant women are particularly at high risk for fetal damage. In other adults, lead poisoning causes serious blood pressure, reproductive and other organ problems.

Direct ingestion of lead by children playing normally in their homes goes unnoticed until the damage to their bodies is already done. Adult exposure usually comes from job sites. In addition, workers can bring this lead dust back to their own homes and further expose their families.

What is the greatest source of toxic lead poisoning in buildings and homes?

You may be thinking that demolition of old walls and woodwork would generate the most air-borne dust. Not true.

The majority of lead dust generation comes from machines “that remove lead-based paint through high-speed operation of sanding, grinding, power planning, abrasive blasting or sand blasting…(or by)…dry scraping and sanding by hand.”¹

Until recently, those were what you saw in neighborhoods and construction sites. What else might you have seen? How about open-flame torching or high heat guns? They were favored by some painters for decades. These high heat tools softened the paint for faster, less dusty scraping. But operating effectively at over 1100° Fahrenheit, these tools quickly heated the paint to temperatures which immediately vaporized the lead. The invisible, toxic fumes entered lungs even faster than the dust did!

OK. “What about chemical paint removers?” Sure, the liquids don’t generate dust in their wet forms. But many are toxic and certainly caustic for users, plants, pets, and the ground soil around the work area.

So, what methods are left for contractors and DIY homeowners to use when working with lead-based paint?

RRP does not prohibit the use of the dry, hand or machine methods; it prohibits their use without HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) vacuum attachments to collect the dust. It does not prohibit the use of all paint stripping tools using heat; only those which operate over 1,100°. It does not prohibit the use of all chemical strippers; only those with methylene chloride.

A new technology for paint removal is long overdue.

In the late 1980s, a safer and more eco-friendly method was developed in Sweden by a historic restoration painter. This method uses mid-range, infrared heat waves to heat both the substrate and the paint at lower temperatures. Therefore, it greatly reduced the hazards of removing lead-based paint in three ways:

1. No fumes. Metallic lead vaporizes at 1,100°F (the temperature at which high heat guns operate). The mid-range infrared heat waves heat the paint and wood only to 400-600º F. Dangerous lead fumes are not released.
2. Minimal dust generated. Containing lead dust is difficult and costly but critical to prevent workers, building occupants, and the environment from being contaminated. The scraping of the soft paint from the infrared heat generates minimum dust; dry scraping, sanding or shaving paint create lots of dust.
3. Easier containment of lead paint waste. The soft paint scrapings clump together and drop onto a plastic sheeting; they are easier to contain and bag up. While water pressure washing surfaces may be faster, it leaves water full of paint chips in the work area’s soil, making it difficult to clean up without removing the top soil itself. Use of toxic or non-toxic chemical paint removers leaves messy goo also difficult to contain.

But how do the different paint stripping methods affect wood?

For people wanting to renovate old buildings, old wood preservation can be a priority. They often want to return the covered wood back to its original beauty. Or they want the surface to be smooth again before they repaint it. To do so usually requires complete stripping of many layers of varnish and paint. Only then will new varnish or paint adhere properly and look high quality.

Chemicals leach out natural resins and leave residue even after neutralizing and/or rinsing. High heat (1,100ºF) guns force paint pigment back into the wood and risk scorching and igniting the wood. We’ve all heard the horror stories of heat gun fires.

Sanding and shaving leave gouge and burn marks if not done skillfully. Pressure washing often leaves irregular, surface marks in the wood and drives moisture back into it. In addition, soaking the wood creates layers of “gray wood” which must be scraped away to prevent poor adhesion of new paint. All of these methods can damage wood.

Infrared heat paint removal can be the gentlest process on the wood. The infrared heat penetrates into the wood, pulls up natural resins, paint, and moisture deep within; this rejuvenates the old wood. The heat also kills troublesome fungus and mold. The lower operating temperature of 400-600° F. minimizes the risk of scorching the wood or catching it on fire.

An additional cost benefit of infrared paint removal is the time reduction in the entire paint removal process. Set up, operation, and cleanup are faster than with most other methods. There is no extra time spent rinsing, neutralizing, drying, or sanding the wood. It is immediately ready to be sealed against moisture by paint primer.

Since there are several brands of infrared paint removers on the market, look for these qualities:

• UL-Listing (Underwriters Laboratory) to verify safety testing.
• Shock absorbers to reduce bulb breakage.
• Automatic, overheat shut-off mechanism to prevent damage to the tool and the wood.
• Built-in safety shields extending beyond the infrared bulbs which set the correct distance between the bulbs and the painted wood. These shields eliminate the operator’s guesswork about what distance is safe yet effective. They also reduce splattering paint from coating the bulbs and overheating the tools wiring.
• Comprehensive instruction materials and training videos to assure quick operator proficiency, safe operation, and proper maintenance of the tool.

The RRP law is designed to prevent lead poisoning. Contractors, homeowners, landlords, and building maintenance managers all face the same problem with removing old, lead-based paint. It is very time-consuming and tedious. No one paint removal method fits all projects. How do we do it effectively, efficiently, and safely? We all owe it to public health and our environment to understand our options for removal of toxic lead-based paint.

Check to assure your contractors have documentation to prove they are certified. Look for this logo.

If you are a DIYer, research lead-safe work practices at www.epa.gov/lead and use them! Preservation of older buildings rather than demolition is growing. People are choosing to save their old homes for aesthetic, historic, and ecological reasons. To quote Duffy Hoffman, a veteran preservation specialist, “The greenest structure is the one that's already built!” Let’s keep these old structures…but do it safely!

For further information, visit www.eco-strip.com. Catherine Brooks with Eco-Strip LLC at 703-476-6222 or through email at cbrooks@eco-strip.com.