All key employees took the 8-hour course and are certified, which provides coverage on all job sites. All persons certified are able to teach other employees necessary pre-cautions and procedures. Our firm is in the process of obtaining the necessary firm certification. We have also updated our Asbestos, Lead and Hazardous material exclusions and policy and procedures.
—Lee R. Zaretzky, President, Ronsco, Inc., New York, NY
We have already registered and completed training and testing. We are waiting on the State of Iowa to process our paper work. Iowa has stronger requirements than EPA and is allowing a one year grace to allow for certification. At present the State of Iowa is offering training reimbursement. We will need to maintain yearly updates of our Renovation Certification at our own expense.
—Munro Construction Co., Des Moines, IA
We have been taking the “Just in Time” approach. One owner and one staff member went to training in February ’10 in order to secure company certification by the 4/22/10 deadline. We have our test kits and HEPA vac in hand and will be working on our first window job with lead issues in August. Our goal is to make this process “non-scary” and educational for the customer, by letting them know what and how we will be doing the work in their home and assuring them it won’t cost them an arm and a leg. If they have other trades working in their home outside of our contract, [we can] help educate those trades about lead and why they need to be aware of the RRP rule.
—Susan Ross Dykhuizen, President, Robert W. Ross Building Contractor, Inc., Kalispell, MT
We’ve done our homework on the issue and don’t anticipate it being much of a problem to comply with. Our safety manager is getting certified on it and will train our jobsite workers as needed.
—Jason Gordon, President, Heartland Acoustics & Interiors, Englewood, CO
Doing my best to comply with state regulations, as set forth and adjusted as necessary! Things and people have changed, and we in the trades need to abide by those rules! The scene in this world is changing, and we need to cope and adjust accordingly. Health matters are of much more serious concern today than in past years!
—David Perkins, Owner, Perkins Drywall, Citrus Heights, CA
We have had training from an accredited training company in our area, and we have received our firm’s EPA renovators’ certificate. I have also had one of our painting contractors receive certification.
—Larry Kaplan, Coral Structures Inc., Libertyville, IL
We are a small business, so we are patiently waiting on the infamous “stimulus” money we keep hearing about to find its way into our pockets so we can afford to stay compliant with another government mandated program.
—Brentt Tumey, MSI Drywall
We are preparing by taking their abatement classes and getting their certification. Pretty soon it will be more cost effective to tear down a structure than to renovate it. I hope they start with the White House and the Capitol buildings, then move on to the historic buildings.
—James A. McEwen, President, Smith Insulation Inc.
We have set up a lead paint station at our shop where we encourage our employees to use their senses to recognize the occurrence of lead in paint. This way if they encounter it on the job site, they can run for the hills. (Actually we sent a group of job supervisors to the Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting training program. After evaluating what they have learned, we are looking into sending more employees in for training. My grandfather is a big believer in education, and we follow his example today.)
—Jon Chambers, J&B Acoustical, Mansfield, OH
We perform a lot of restoration work for plaster and stucco on buildings that are sometimes 100 and more years old. Lead paint in those buildings is commonplace. It was great material, just deadly. We have always worked to protect our employees against whatever hazard we encounter. Now that it is the law, we’ve sent a project manager and superintendent to a day-long class to get training and certification in safe lead paint abatement. We were, frankly, displeased with the class. The instructor was a career painter and knew a great deal about painting work, but was not an effective teacher. Thank goodness the workbook is well done and will be a resource. The lesson here is to vet the instructor and class before sending anyone – just as you would any other employee.
—Robert A. Aird, Robert A. Aird, Inc., Frederick, MD
We have already certified one supervisor and signed up with the state of Colorado, We are planning on
certifying five more employees.
—Roger Barrett, President, South Valley Drywall Inc., Littleton, CO
We have attended certification classes and use procedures that are outlined in the training classes [to] be more aware of the environment impacts.
—Anonymous
We are prepared to start working nights and weekends—most of the inspectors work during the day.—Freddie Hilpp
We are lead-based–paint certified, state and national.
—Bestway Insulation
