April 1, 2013

Hans Scheifele National Program Chemicals Division (7404T)

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460

R E : Lead, Renovation, R epair, and Painting Program for Public and Commercial Buildings,

EPA

- HQ

- OPPT

- 2010

- 0173

Dear Mr. Scheifele:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s development of criteria for mitigation of lead

- based paint hazards in public and commercial buildings. In ad dition to these preliminary comments, the Institute looks forward to participating in the public meeting scheduled for June 26, 2013.

In the mid

- 1990s, the Department of Housing and Urban Development asked the Institute to produce guidance for the safe ma nagement of lead

- based paint. The effort resulted in two guides: Lead

- Based Paint: Operations & Maintenance Work Practices Manual for Homes and Buildings and Guide Specifications for Reducing Lead

- Based Paint Hazards

. These guides

should be consulted as th e Agency considers regulatory options. We would be pleased to work with the Agency to update these documents to reflect the latest knowledge and practices.

As you may know, t he Institute , authorized by public law 93

- 383 in 1974, is a nonprofit,

nongovernm ental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of ad vice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology.

The Institute focuses on the achievement of high

- performance buildings that integrate and optimize all relevant criteria including cost effectiveness, safety and security, sustainability, functionality and historic preservation. These criteria are reflected in both the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Infrastructure and Security Act of 2007.

As recognized in the recent request for information and the related advance notice of proposed rulemaking in 2010, significant science

- based information is necessary to develop regulations that sufficiently protect public health while not placing undue burden on building owners and

contractors. To date, such s cience

- based information applicable to the presence , occupantHans Scheifele Page 2 April 1, 2013

exposure, and the mitigation of lead

- based paint in commercial and public buildings is woefully inadequate.

The questions identified in the request for information provide a good starting point for the type of information necessary. However, the information requested is largely unknown or has not been previously collected. The dearth of data on characteristics of the existing building stock, construction related activities, impacts on occupant h ealth and productivity, and the linkages between design and performance is not new. In its recent report, Data Needs for Achieving High

- Performance Buildings the Institute recognized that access to credible data is essential for achieving high

- performance building goals. EPA (along with other government agencies and the private sector) should support development of a robust data initiative to collect, validate and disseminate data that informs policy decisions and the realization of industry performance

goa ls.

To facilitate development of regulations based on sound science and to support the collection of necessary dat a , w e highly recommend engaging building owners and contractors in the development of a joint EPA/industry research effort to attempt to answe r the fundamental questions already identified and to identify additional research needs to sufficiently protect occupants of public and commercial buildings from lead exposure.

The Agency should consider working with the Energy Information Administration to add relevant questions to future versions of the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) to quantify the extent of renovation activities and potential occupant exposure levels. EPA should also evaluate the role existing regulations from th e Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) play in protecting both contractors and building occupants from lead

exposure.

As the entity charged by Congress to engage both the public and private sector in the development and dissemination of te chnical criteria for buildings, the Institute welcomes the opportunity to facilitate the identification and subsequent conduct of research to inform development of lead

- based paint regulations for public and commercial buildings.

Please let me know if you have any questions about these comments or wish to discuss how the

Institute can assist EPA in advancing science

- based lead mitigation regulations for public and commercial buildings.

Respectfully submitted,

Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA

President