I F Y O U 

DISTURB

PAINT

YOU MUST GET

LEAD-SAFE

CERTIFIED

Lead Paint:

Is it in your child-care center, 

home, school or anywhere 

children may be present?

The Truth About

Lead Paint

 Poisoning

Lead paint is an invisible danger. Here are some facts about lead paint that everyone should know:• Even small levels of exposure to lead paint can 

harm both children and adults.

• Hundreds of thousands of kids are affected by lead 

paint with some level of irreversible damage, such as lower intelligence, learning disabilities and behavioral issues.

• New cases of childhood lead paint poisoning 

are diagnosed every year. Many more go unreported.

• Recent research shows that new cases can be 

directly linked to renovations where the work environment was inadequately cleaned and contained.

• Adults exposed to lead paint can suffer from 

high blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, diminished motor skills, fatigue and memory loss. 

• It’s not just lead paint chips that poison. 

Contamination can be caused by only a little bit of lead dust that is easily inhaled or ingested.

• Once poisoned, effects may be for life.

To learn more, visit epa.gov/getleadsafe or call 800-424-LEADTo report a violation, visitepa.gov/tips

Many contractors and maintenance workers who have been on the job for years believe they know all about the dangers of and the precautions necessary for working with lead paint. Others think lead paint 

poisoning simply went away years ago. It didn’t. That’s why you need to know the facts about lead paint, and how disturbing it poses serious health risks to the people in your building, especially children. There are requirements in place to protect children from these dangers. If your pre-1978 in-home daycare, child-care center, school or hospital is being renovated, repaired or painted, this pamphlet is for you. In it, you’ll learn about the dangers of lead paint, how to hire a Lead-Safe Certifi ed 

contractor, and how to make sure your own maintenance staff is doing the right thing.

Child Care Providers:

Make sure you or 

 your contractor is  Lead-Safe Certi

fi ed

of

• Once poison

To leavisit epa.gov gor call 800-424-LE

A

To report a violation, visitepa.gov/tips
Where Does The Lead 

Danger Come From Today?

In earlier decades, the fear of children eating lead paint chips was the main concern when it came to poisoning. 

But since then, research has shown that the 

most common way to get lead in the 

body is from inhaling or ingesting 

microscopic dust.

Day-to-day wear, as well as 

common renovation and repair 

activities, like sanding, cutting and 

demolition, can create hazardous lead dust 

and chips. Proper work practices can help protect the people in your building, especially children, from this dust. Even for small jobs, the key is to use lead-safe work practices such as containing dust inside the work area, using dust-minimizing work methods and conducting a careful cleanup. It also means keeping people out of the work area. Most importantly, it means making sure that anyone who does work in your building is Lead-Safe Certifi ed. 

How Do I Choose 

The Right Contractor?

A responsible operator of a child-care facility will be sure to hire only contractors who are Lead-Safe Certifi ed to work in a building built prior to 1978. Here are a few helpful tips:• Verify that a contractor is certifi ed by checking the 

EPA website at epa.gov/getleadsafe or by calling 

1-800-424-LEAD. You can also ask to see a copy of the contractor’s Lead-Safe RRP fi rm certifi cation.

• Ask if the contractor is trained to perform lead-safe 

work practices and ask to see a copy of their lead-safe training certifi cate.

• Make sure your contractor can explain clearly the 

details of the job and how the fi rm will minimize lead hazards during the work process.

• Ask what lead-safe methods will be used to set up and 

perform the job in your in-home daycare, child-care center, school or hospital.

• Always make sure the contract is clear about how the 

work will be set up, performed and cleaned.

Does My Staff Have To 

Be Lead-Safe Certi

fi ed?

Federal law requires that if you or someone on your staff is performing the work (including routine maintenance that disturbs paint), your organization must be Lead-Safe Certifi ed as a fi rm and your staff 

must be trained in lead-safe work practices. If not, you could face tens of thousands of dollars in fi nes. Plus, you put the health of yourself, your workers, and your children at risk, which could result in lawsuits. These work practices include:• Containing the work area.• Avoiding renovation methods that generate

large amounts of lead-contaminated dust.

• Cleaning up thoroughly.

Becoming Lead-Safe Certi

fi ed

1. Individual renovators must be certifi ed. Get 

certifi ed by attending a one-day Renovation, 

Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule course. The price for this course is set by private trainers accredited by the EPA. To fi nd an accredited trainer near you, visit epa.gov/getleadsafe or call 1-800-424-LEAD.

2. Your fi rm also must be certifi ed. Apply for 

certifi cation by completing and submitting an application and fee.

3. Visit our website epa.gov/getleadsafe to fi nd a 

training course, download the application and get more information.

hips wa

B

EPA regulations now mandate that any contractor or maintenance staff , from plumbers to electricians to painters, who disturbs more than six square feet of paint or replaces windows while working in a pre-1978 home or child-care facility, must now be Lead-Safe Certifi ed and trained in lead-safe work practices. If not, they could face tens of thousands of dollars in fi nes. 

Look

for

the

Logo

Was Your Child-Care Facility Built Before 1978? If Yes,Then:

in fines. 

ers, 

d

hods that generate

taminated dust.