2. Lead Based Paint Testing

We supervise and monitor both demolition and renovation project for lead contractors progress. Compliance with all government regulations on a day to day basis and conducts on-site inspection before, during and after abatement and review air monitoring test results and prepare all documents necessarily. Provide Lead abatement contractors surveillance and documentation of Contractors.  Adherence to the project specifications and all applicable EPA, HUD and OSHA regulations. Abatement surveillance includes conducting inspections.  Documentation of the integrity of the containment barriers, monitor and document.  We provide trouble shooting of any lead abatement difficulties or potential Health and Safety problems that we may encounter on various projects. Conduct all air monitoring including before, during and after abatement (final clearance). Prepare documents necessary for the shipping and disposal of hazardous materials. Furnish job progress and job completion reports. Consult with various different agencies on lead assessments both visited site and report of findings in accordance with State and Federal Agencies.

Understanding Lead Based Paint:

In late 1991, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services called lead the "number one environmental threat to the health of children in the United States." humans are exposed to lead in many ways: through air, drinking water, food, contaminated soil, deteriorating paint, and dust. Airborne lead enters the body when an individual breathes or swallows lead particles or dust once it has settled. Before it was known how harmful lead could be, it was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes, and many other products. Old lead-based paint is the most significant source of lead exposure in the United States today. Not using the right procedures to remove lead-based paint has created harmful exposures. High concentrations of airborne lead particles in homes can also result from lead dust from outdoor sources, including contaminated soil tracked inside, and use of lead in certain indoor activities like soldering and stained-glass making.

History of Lead-Based Paint

Lead oxide is a white pigment used since ancient times; it was used rather than any of the many other white mineral pigments because of its greater hiding power. Prior to 1940, lead was in almost every paint. As titanium dioxide, a white pigment of hiding power superior to lead oxide, became economic, the use of lead oxide diminished. By 1978, when regulations limiting the allowable lead in paint were implemented, the use of lead oxide had all but stopped already. Lead chromate pigments in colors of yellow, orange or green (when mixed with a blue pigment) were also quite prevalent during the same period of use as lead oxide. Lead chromate paint is still used for safety paints, such as the paint on traffic lines or fire hydrants. Lead was burned in leaded gasoline from the 1930's, and much of this lead still lies in the soil adjacent to major roads.

Hazard of Lead

Lead is a poisonous heavy metal “which” may cause the following symptoms: anemia, enzymatic changes, abdominal cramping, palsy or shaking, depressed IQ and attention disorders. It can be absorbed into the body through breathing fumes or particles, eating or drinking contaminated food, or through the skin for organic lead compounds, such as lead gasoline. The major hazards to the general public today are existing lead-based paint and soil contaminated by a combination of deteriorating paint and auto fumes. Children, with their still developing neurological systems and poorer hygienic practices, are at greater risk than are adults. It is thought that an important pathway of lead into a child is by hand, as the child crawls along a contaminated floor, and then puts its hand into its mouth.