Lead-based Paint Hazards

The state and federal lead paint regulations are complex.  What appears below is a partial summary of some of their more important features.  For more detailed information, check with our Housing Consumer Education Center or the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP).

Owners of 1-4 family properties may be eligible for low-cost financing for lead-based paint hazard abatement in the Get the Lead Out Program.

Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is caused by swallowing or breathing lead.  Lead can be found in many places, including paint, soil, toys, glazes on ceramic dishes and even tap water.  Lead is a poison when it gets into the body.  Young children absorb lead more easily than adults.  Among the many harmful effects associated with lead poisoning are:

• Damage to the brain, kidneys, and nervous system.
• Problems with growth and development.
• Learning problems.
• Speech and hearing problems.
• Behavioral problems.

Most of the lead poisoning in Massachusetts comes from lead paint in older homes.  Most homes built before 1978 have lead paint on the inside and outside of the building.  When old paint peels and cracks, it creates lead paint chips and lead dust. 

Most children who have lead poisoning do not look or act sick. A lead test is the only way to know if your child has lead poisoning. Every child in Massachusetts must be tested for lead.  The first test must be done between the ages of nine and twelve months. Children must be tested again at ages two and three. If you live in a high risk community, such as Springfield or Holyoke, your child must also be tested at age four. Every child must have a lead test before they begin Kindergarten. 

The basic test is just a simple finger-prick process. It can be done at your doctor’s office or health clinic. Sometimes, mass screenings are offered as part of a special health safety fair or lead awareness fair. Although Massachusetts law defines a child with a blood lead level above 25 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dl) as being lead poisoned, any blood lead level above 10 μg/dl can be cause for concern. Most children have blood levels below this figure.  If your child has a lead level above 10 μg/dl based on a finger test, you should contact your medical provider for further testing and advice.  More information about lead poisoning can be found at website for the Massachusetts Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

How can I make my home safe?

The only permanent way to reduce the risk of lead poisoning is to have your home deleaded (brought into compliance with state lead safety requirements).  The owner is responsible for having the home deleaded or brought under interim control whenever a child under the age of six lives there.  It is illegal for an owner to refuse to rent to you because a child under six lives in the household.

Other interim lead safety activities can include: frequent washing of household surfaces (wear cleaning gloves), washing your children’s hands when they come in from play, covering peeling paint and plaster with duct tape, keeping the lower part of old windows closed, picking up paint chips and dust with a damp towel, and running water until it is cold before using it for drinking or cooking purposes.

Apartments receiving rental assistance payments under the Section 8 program must be deleaded if anyone under six lives in the household.

Notification requirements for lead hazard

The owner of any property built before 1978 must give all tenants a copy of the state-approved four-page lead hazard information form when they first move into the property - together with the most recent copies of the lead paint inspection report and letter of compliance for that property, if such documents exist.  The property owner must comply with this notification requirement even if no child under six resides in the household. Include a link to the form here? 

Federal law requires that renovators, contractors and painters give a copy the EPA pamphlet Renovate Right to homeowners and tenants if they are going to renovate more than six square feet of painted surface within a room or 20 square feet of exterior painted surfaces of any building built before 1978. 

Effective April, 2010, federal law will also require that all contractors who disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities and schools build before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices. Visit the EPA website for more information.

Deleading or “Lead Paint Abatement”

The goal of the deleading process is to abate lead hazards by removing or, when appropriate, containing any paint, plaster or other accessible structural material that contains dangerous levels of lead.  This includes correction of any structural defects in the building, such as roof or plumbing leaks or deteriorating windows, which can damage lead-containing surfaces.  The owner of the property is responsible for all deleading costs.

Generally, not all of the lead-based paint present in the living unit will need to be removed or covered in the deleading process; only surfaces that can pose a hazard must be dealt with.  Put most simply, the deleading process reduces to three distinct steps.  The unit is first inspected for the presence of lead paint.  Next, the abatement process takes place.  Finally, the unit is re-inspected to insure that it is now in compliance with the lead paint regulations. 

The inspection process determines what surfaces must be brought into compliance with lead paint regulations.  Surfaces from which lead must be removed if found present include:

• Loose, peeling, chipping, cracking or falling paint or plaster.
• Movable surfaces from which lead-containing materials can break free, such as non-fixed windows, even if they are more than five feet above the floor or ground.
• Intact mouthable surfaces to a height of five feet and four inches back from the chewable edge, including: windowsills; windows, movable or fixed, below the five-foot level; stair treads from the lip to the riser on the bottom and four inches back from the lip at the top of the tread; stair rail spindles; and door frames and other similar surfaces, such as trim or moldings, which have an edge that extends greater than half an inch.
• Movable surfaces from which lead-containing materials can break free, such as non-fixed windows, even if they are more than five feet above the floor or ground.

Inspections can only be done by a licensed Massachusetts lead paint inspector using a Mobile X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzer (or less frequently or reliably, by testing with sodium sulfide solution). A list of licensed inspectors can be obtained through the CLPPP website.

The second step is the actual lead abatement process. All deleading activities must be performed by someone approved to do so by CLPPP. An owner may undertake certain “low-risk” and “moderate-risk” abatement activities on his or her property after completing training in these techniques. While this training is not as extensive as that required of a licensed professional, it does acquaint the owner with the basic safety considerations that are required for safe deleading. 

Low-risk deleading allows the owner to undertake simple deleading tasks that do not disturb intact paint. A property owner may become approved to undertake low-risk deleading activities on his or her own property by completing and returning a home-study booklet available from CLPPP. 

Moderate-risk deleading, which allows the owner to undertake repairs that minimally disturb lead-painted surfaces, requires completion of a one-day course offered at training sites around the state. A list of trainers for moderate-risk deleading techniques can be found at the CLPPP website. 

Only a professional lead paint abatement contractor or “deleader” who is properly licensed and insured can perform the more complex “high-risk” abatement activities, which may substantially disturb lead-containing surfaces. A list of licensed deleaders can be found through the CLPPP website.

No residents may be in the apartment while deleading is taking place. The rental property owner must provide tenants with alternate housing during this time.

Once the deleading process is completed, the lead inspector will re-inspect the property to make certain that all required work has been accomplished and that the site has been cleaned of all lead-containing dust and debris. The inspector will then issue the property owner a Letter of Compliance, which signifies that the property has been brought into compliance with Massachusetts lead paint safety requirements.

Once a Letter of Compliance has been obtained, the owner of the property is responsible for insuring that the property is maintained in compliance in the future.  (Although Massachusetts law also provides for a step-wise, but more complex, alternate route to compliance that initially involves seeking a Letter of Interim Control, this approach is infrequently used.)

Easing the Costs of Deleading

Massachusetts taxpayers can claim a tax credit on their state income tax based on the actual cost of deleading any units receiving a Letter of Compliance during the course of the tax year, up to a maximum of $1,500 per deleaded unit.  (A maximum tax credit of $500 per unit can be claimed for units for which a Letter of Interim Control has been issued.)

Subject to funding availability, there are certain government programs that may help cover some of the costs associated with deleading.  The Get The Lead Out program sometimes provides low cost loans for deleading properties of up to four units, either owned by a low-to-moderate income owner or in which low- or moderate-income tenants reside.