As of April 22, firms conducting renovations, repairs, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices by the EPA. Under the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule, firms and individuals disturbing 20 square feet or more of lead-painted exterior surfaces also must be certified. Firms must register with the EPA and pay a fee. Individual renovators must be trained by an EPA-accredited training provider.

Becoming certified as individual renovators requires eight hours of training, two hours of which must be hands-on training. This certification is good for five years. EPA has approved 218 training provides, 114 of which are accredited to provide training in multiple states. Training fees are set by individual training providers. Consequences for not complying with the RRP can include penalties of up to 437,500 per violation, per day.

For more in-depth coverage, visit Eco-Structure’s sister publication, Remodeling magazine.