The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is launching a pilot program in Memphis to address the renovation, repair and painting of homes that contain lead-based paint.
The year-long pilot program will address the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, which requires that firms performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built prior to 1978 have their firm certified. The EPA certification also includes the use of certified renovators who are trained by EPA-approved training providers and follow lead-safe work practices.
The next year will be important for the EPA as it works with city of Memphis and Shelby County governments, said Anthony Toney, Chief of the Chemical Safety and Enforcement Branch for the EPA Regional Office in Atlanta.
“In Memphis, as well as the rest of the country, we’ve been looking at regulations the last few years,” said Toney, referring to steps to address the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule that went into effect in 2010. “It requires persons working in those areas with lead paint to comply with regulations. They must be certified. They must keep appropriate records of training. There are work practice standards that must be adhered to.”
Memphis is the pilot city, but the program will launch in other select cities in the eight-state area that makes up the EPA’s Region 4.
Beverly Banister, Director of Air, Pesticide, Toxics Management Division for the EPA Southeast Region, said in a statement that the organization has a vested interest in making a difference in communities, making it a priority to aid children living in poverty.
In fact, Memphis’ high concentration of children younger than six as well as children living in poverty made the city Ground Zero for the launch of the program. Those children living in a high concentration of homes built prior to 1978 when lead-based paint was outlawed also makes the Bluff City an important starting point for the program.
Lead-based paint exposure can be deadly to those who inhale or ingest it, particularly children.
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