Get lead certified

**"****Today’s settlement sends a clear message to all contractors and the firms they hire: **
**Get lead certified and comply with the law to protect children from exposure to dangerous lead dust," **

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/usa-epa-lowes-idUSL2N0N919P20140417
UPDATE 2-Lowe’s to pay $500,000 in EPA lead paint settlement
By Julia Edwards
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Lowe’s Home Centers , the No. 2 U.S. home improvement retail chain, has agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty for violating federal rules governing lead paint exposure, U.S. authorities said on Thursday.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice said Lowe’s had also agreed to implement a new compliance program at more than 1,700 stores nationwide.
Lead exposure can cause a range of health problems, from behavioral disorders and learning disabilities to seizures and death. Young children are at the greatest risk because their nervous systems are still developing.
Lead-based paint was banned in the United States in 1978 but remains in many older homes and apartments. Dust hazards can occur when the paint deteriorates or is disrupted during home renovation and remodeling.
An EPA investigation found that Lowe’s could not provide documentation to prove that contractors it hired to work at 13 stores across nine states were certified by the agency, or had used its approved kits to test for lead paint at work sites, the EPA said.
“Today’s settlement sends a clear message to all contractors and the firms they hire: Get lead certified and comply with the law to protect children from exposure to dangerous lead dust,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
In a statement Lowe’s said it “has had an aggressive lead-based paint renovation compliance program in place since the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule went into effect” and that there had been no reports of lead-based paint health issues associated with projects completed by its contractors.
Lowe’s shares were up nearly 0.3 percent at $46.85 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Aruna Viswanatha in Washington and Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by Ros Krasny, Will Dunham and James Dalgleish)

Lowes hires sub contractors who are really employees. An employee is told how much work, where, when its to be done and how much they get paid. Having a 1099 contractor you manage is not having a sub.

Now, Home Depot and Lowes are self insured so they can break the rules and they did with the RRP rule, but they blamed the subs who are not really subs.

A $500,000 fine to Lowes is like fining me $50.00, not a big deal. Lowes and the others do not follow the RRP rule as they can throw others under the bus if the rule is not followed.

I’ll bet the upper management at Lowes went out to celebrate after this ruling.

I require all the contractors who work on my 203K jobs to be LRRP compliant.

The real scam or threat of lead comes from Agents who say , " oh by the way, sign this lead disclosure form that you dont want to get lead test, otherwise it will hold everything up in your closing, Plus there is no lead anymore in past 30 yrs" Happens ALL the time by me , true lead paints may not be used but the houses still have lead paint on them!!
Education is key to prevention
But how can you educate when the teacher just says ’ sign the disclosure ’ and move on
What a sham it is

For all HUD rehab projects I over see every contractor on the job site has to provide certification or the work ends.

I see a lot crap on the 30 jobs we have open at the moment. Another 40 coming this summer, and it is hard to find certified contractors for all the work.

Same here LeRoy.

I just make sure they have the EPA certification, I do not supervise.
Most contractors I see do not follow the rule, maybe 1 in 20 do.

Not to step on your toes Paul but probably more like $5.00. I would like to know how that** settlement sends a clear message to all contractors and the firms they hire.**

I’m with you on this, kind of like the Ford Pinto where it was cheaper to pay millions to victims of a rear end crash and fire than it was to fix the problem.

The whole EPA/ LRRP is another government boondoggle. Helps big business and hurts the people its meant to protect.
I was RRP certified right from the day it was started and right away found out I was loosing work to the guys who ignored it.

Government boondoggle, Helps big business. Couldn’t agree with you more.