Lead Based Paint Hazards

This guide on lead safety work practices was developed by the HUDs Office of Lead Hazard Control. If you perform routine maintenance on homes or apartments built prior to 1978, this guide will help you plan and safely carry out the work, while minimizing the disturbance of lead-based paint. Step-by-step instructions detail what you need to do to work smart and work safe. The guide is easy to understand and small enough to carry to work sites so you can easily follow the instructions inside. There are 5 sections: the basics; before you start work; doing the work; at the end of the job; and resources (glossary). Illustrated with clear and detailed drawings.

Lead-based paint has become a national issue and will continue to be a hi- priority focus ofnational, state, and local agencies until there is no lead-based paint in the United States. Lead-based paint has become a tremendous health hazard for people and animals. Lead-based paint has been in widespread use throughout Europe and the United States. Lead has been known to be a health hazard since the time ofPliny the Elder (A. D. 23–79), but it was deemed that the advantages of lead in paint outweighed the health hazards. There has been a change in outlook, and in 1973 the U. S. Congress banned all lead paint from residential structures. A voluminous number of law suits have been initiated since, and continue to be litigated with the purpose of determining the parties responsible for the lead poisoning of children and others and to exact the indemnities. Lead-based paint is still authorized for use on bridges and nonresidential structures, and thousands of city, state, military, and federal government housing projects still contain lead-based paint. This paint must be removed if these dwellings are to be safe living quarters, especially for children. Aba- ment techniques continue to be evaluated; some have been used successfully. Lead-based paint abatement will continue into the next century, and it is hoped that this comprehensive volume will serve as a guide for those seriously interested in this important subject.

This detailed, user-friendly approach to assessing and controlling lead hazards in housing, schools, day-care centers, and commercial and industrial settings combines the author's expertise on the subject with a practical approach to real-world procedures, emphasizing key provisions of federal, state, and local regulations. 20 illustrations.