Removal of lead paint and minimizing lead dust from spreading are essential to maintaining people's health. Establishing government regulations that dictate the procedures for removal of the dangerous lead component serve to assure the public, including those individuals who remove the lead, that no health issues will ensue from the process. RCRA, OSHA and the EPA provide guidelines, policies and procedures that regulate lead remediation.
Since 1978, the government banned lead as an ingredient in paint. Nearly four decades later, the problems associated with lead continue to persist. Shockingly, lead poisoning remains responsible for the poisoning of nearly one million children per year. An article appearing in the Kansas City Star reports, "[T]his nation has failed to meet a 2010 goal to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by attacking a problem that often exists in poor and minority neighborhoods."
What is happening in poor neighborhoods to America's children only underscores how important it is to 'get the lead out', while highlighting the need to follow regulations that govern the process for lead and lead dust removal.
Delving into the processes gives insight to the reason why lead is so dangerous to human health. These are the requirements OSHA demands an individual adhere to when cleaning up lead:
- Appropriate respirators
- Appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment
- Change areas
- Hand-washing facilities
- Biological monitoring
- Training
With these protections in place, a worker is safe, but an individual living in an old home is fully exposed to the dangers. These dangers to health are very real and extremely devastating. In an article by Dr. Charles Crutchfield III, he wrote, “It causes permanent damage, [such as] development, behavior, hearing, intelligence and the ability to learn. Most of these changes are irreversible." With enough exposure, Dr. Crutchfield concluded that death is the likely result.
Depending on the type of removal, as with embedded lead, a change in the procedure and the tools required to safely remediate the lead will follow. Always in the process is the fear that lead dust or lead fumes will billow up, spread and be inhaled by those nearby. Aside from isolating people from construction projects, OSHA recommends, for example, "[U]sing ... vacuum blast cleaning, wet abrasive blast cleaning, shrouded power tool cleaning, or chemical stripping to ...reduce exposure to respirable airborne particulates containing lead."
When the process of removal is in progress, the greatest fear is airborne lead particles, as the above regulatory guideline indicates.
Those living in old homes where paint is peeling off the walls, who suffer under the blistering summer sun--all events that disturb the lead and release its devastating effects--have no such protections that OSHA (and other agencies) enforce.
ECOBOND®, the premier lead paint solution used to seal and treat lead paint, joins the U.S. Green Building Council member community. “We are passionate about restoring our environment and protecting people from the hazards of lead with our patented ECOBOND® lead paint technology. We are pleased to align ourselves with leading organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council” stated James Barthel, President and creator of ECOBOND®.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its community are changing the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated. The Organization is made up of tens of thousands of member organizations, chapters and student and community volunteers that are moving the building industry forward in a way that has never been seen before.
ECOBOND® LBP, LLC is the nation’s leader in developing and distributing products that improve the protection of human health and safety from the hazards of lead in the home, workplace, and the environment. With over 15 years in patented and proven success, the ECOBOND® family of products have been extensively used in successfully treating lead hazards in over 11,000,000 tons of material while serving over 100,000 customers in the United States and Internationally.
To learn more visit www.ecobondlbp.com, view their lead paint treatment video or download their free Industry Report: http://www.LeadPaintRemovalReport.com