David Merrick, NARI Government Affairs Committee Chairman, and several others from NARI attended one of the workshops on Friday, July 23 in Baltimore. Also present at that workshop was the region 3 EPA Regional Lead Enforcement Coordinator, Annie Skidmore.
At the meeting EPA's Annie Skidmore brought everyone up-to-date with the latest numbers (as of the June 22nd workshop) from the EPA regarding the RRP.
• 411,000 people have completed RRP Certified Renovator training.
• 40,000 firms have completed firm certification with 10-20,000 applications in the pipeline.
• EPA acknowledged that their initial estimate of the number of firms that will need to be certified and the number of workers that will need to be trained was way off the mark. The EPA now says the 40,000 firms that are certified represent about 20% of the firms that will need to be certified.
• There are a total of 282 Certified Training Providers, many of which travel and train nationally.
• A total of 17,800 training courses have been held.
About Lead Poisoning
Lead is a natural element and does not break down in the environment. Once lead has been dispersed and re-deposited in the environment, it will remain to poison generations of children unless it is controlled or removed. Lead is a serious danger, especially to children ages 6 and younger. Children are most commonly poisoned by lead when they ingest lead-contaminated dust from lead-based paint.
Once in the body, lead is a powerful toxin. It can cause hyperactivity, developmental delays, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, anemia and hearing problems; these effects are long-term and often irreversible. Children with high levels of lead in their bodies require hospitalization and medical treatment. Very high lead exposures can cause mental retardation, convulsions, coma and death. Children 6 years old and younger are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of lead because their central nervous systems are not fully developed and their bodies absorb and retain lead to a greater extent than the bodies of adults. Additionally, infants and toddlers often crawl and play on the floor, play in the dirt, and put things in their mouths.
Although children from all socioeconomic groups can be effected, those from low-income and minority families are at greatest risk. African American children are almost five times as likely as Caucasian children to be lead-burdened. Low-income children are eight times as likely to be lead-burdened as children from wealthier backgrounds. An estimated 60% of all children suffering from childhood lead poisoning are enrolled in Medicaid.
Lead may get inside children’s bodies when they ingest dust, paint chips, water, and food. Children may not look sick or feel sick, even if they have very high levels of lead in their blood. Only a blood test can determine lead levels. The federal Medicaid Act requires state Medicaid programs to provide Medicaid-enrolled children with a lead blood test at 12 months and again at 24 months (or between 36 and 72 months if the child failed to receive a screen at either 12 or 24 months). Any child under the age of 6 years who has never been tested for lead should be tested immediately. A mother with an elevated blood lead level exposes her unborn child to lead.
Courtesy of :http://www.newhavenlead.com/website/
ServiceMaster Anytime is a Lead-Safe Certified Firm
Posts
Most contractors have taken the delay in EPA enforcement as a "green light" to forgo the training, or postpone the training until the last minute. This strategy is likely to backfire on a number of counts. Firstly, it is likely that classes will be harder to come by as we approach the end of September, the deadline for registering or being certified. Most EPA providers are licking their chops knowing full well that the supply and demand will favor them and prices are likely to skyrocket. Moreover, it is risky to continue to perform lead renovations without the class room training and certification as you are still responsible for following the work practices of the EPA new RRP rules. That means if you make a mistake, you are likely to risk being sued by homeowners, landlords, and lawyers looking for a quick buck. Don't delay your training...get certified as soon as possible.
ReplyDelete