In April 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RR&P) Rule.
This far reaching training and work practice regulation, being implemented over the next year, will not only cover many private residences built prior to 1978, but will also include all pre 1978 Child Occupied Facilities, which include public and commercial buildings that children under the age of six attend, including elementary school kindergarten classrooms, applicable restrooms and cafeterias.
The regulation will require specialized training and information presented to outside contractors and in-house employees who will disturb more than 6 square feet of lead-based painted components during renovation or remodeling activities in applicable areas of the building. Furthermore, the rule has lead component identification obligations, tenant and parent notification requirements stringent work practice/cleanup and recordkeeping requirements.
For further information regarding school district responsibilities under this rule, visit the EPA website.
More on Lead Risk Assessment Requirements for New Day Care Centers
Since the promulgation of lead hazard rules within the State of Michigan in the late 1990s, many school districts have been wondering how these laws would directly impact them. We now have an answer.
Over the past several years, the Michigan Department of Human Services has been planning revisions to their licensing rules for day care centers. One of these changes involved lead hazards. In December of 2006, the licensing rules included a revision to require all new day care center applicants, who occupy buildings constructed before 1978, to have a Lead Risk Assessment. This includes, but is not limited to day care centers within school district buildings.
A Lead Risk Assessment is generally defined as an on-site evaluation of lead based paint and other lead hazards by trained and qualified individuals. This may include an investigation of damaged painted components, lead dust sampling, water sampling and soil sampling.
According to Michigan Rule 400.5940(8) of the Licensing Rules for Day Care Centers, “structures built before 1978 shall have a Lead Risk Assessment performed by a Certified Lead Risk Assessor.” Furthermore, the Rules state, “Any lead hazards identified shall be addressed as noted in the Lead Risk Assessment Report. The results of the Assessment shall be kept on file in the Center.” This means that, not only is the Lead Risk Assessment Report required to be submitted to the State in order to obtain a license, any recommendations made by the Lead Risk Assessor will have to be successfully implemented prior to the granting of a license.
What does this mean for school districts? If you are planning on introducing a new day care center into your district or relocating an existing day care center, and the facility was constructed prior to 1978, you will need to have a Risk Assessment of the facility’s applicable areas before a day care license is approved.
Fortunately for school districts, the following considerations apply to the newly revised Rules:
- Lead Risk Assessments are only required for new day care center license applications, but not for license renewals, (however, it should be noted that physically moving an existing child care center to another location within the building or another building altogether would necessitate a new license and, therefore, a Lead Risk Assessment.
- The Risk Assessment does not have to include the entire building, but only areas of the building that are occupied and frequented by the cay care center children. This would include, but not be limited to, the applicable classrooms, hallways, bathrooms and playgrounds used by the day care center children.
So what should school districts do? If you are planning on developing a new child care center or relocating/changing the name of an existing child care center within your District, plan on conducting a Lead Risk Assessment of the applicable areas of the building prior to the submission of a license application to the state.
Further information regarding the day care licensing requirements can be obtained from the Bureau of Children & Adult Licensing, Day Care Division at (517) 373-8300. A list of Michigan Certified Lead Risk Assessors is available through the Department of Community Health at (866) 691-5323.
All components of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RR & P) Rule will go into effect by April of 2010. The MSBO will be prepared to offer the necessary certified training program to members over the course of the next year.