Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 50 - Environmental health › Subchapter 15 - HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT › Part 5 - Lead Inspections › Section 216-RICR-50-15-5.2 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Wherever used in this Part, the terms
				  listed below shall be construed in the following manner:
1. "Accessory structure" means a detached or
				  ancillary structure (e.g., garage, shed, or gazebo) which is not used or
				  intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants, and which is
				  located on the same premises with a dwelling.
2. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  23-24.6, Lead Poisoning Prevention.
3. "Approved" means approved by the
				  Department, State, or local authority having legal and administrative authority
				  for such.
4. "Certificate of Lead
				  Conformance" or "LHM- 2-1 " means a certificate issued by a Lead Inspector or
				  Lead Assessor which documents that a single family house, dwelling unit and
				  common areas, or premises meets the lead mitigation standards for paint and
				  dust in §
											5.8   of this Part. This
				  certificate is valid for two (2) years from the inspection date.
5. "Child or children" means, for the
				  purposes of this Part, any individual younger than six (6) years of
				  age.
6. "Child care facility" means
				  any building and/or area whose primary purpose is or will be to educate or care
				  for children younger than six (6) years of age, including, but not limited to,
				  child care homes, child care centers, nursery schools, preschools, kindergarten
				  classrooms, public and private elementary schools. Child care facilities
				  located in public or commercial buildings encompass only those common areas
				  that are routinely used by children, such as restrooms and cafeterias. Common
				  areas that children only pass through, such as hallways, staircases, and
				  garages are not included. The child care facility also encompasses the exterior
				  sides of the building that are immediately adjacent to the child care facility
				  and the exterior common areas or play areas routinely used by children.
7. "Clearance inspection" means a
				  visual assessment and lead testing, as applicable, done at the conclusion of a
				  renovation, repair, and painting (RRP), lead hazard control (LHC), or lead
				  hazard reduction (LHR) project to determine compliance with this
				  Part.
8. "Common area(s)" means a
				  portion of a residential property that is available for shared use by occupants
				  of more than one (1) dwelling unit, such as hallways, stairways, lobbies,
				  community rooms, recreational rooms, laundry rooms, garages, playgrounds, and
				  boundary fences; in general, any area not kept locked.
9. "Component or building component" means
				  specific design or structural elements or fixtures of a building or residential
				  dwelling that are distinguished from each other by form, function, and
				  location. These include, but are not limited to, interior components such as:
				  ceilings, crown molding, walls, chair rails, doors, door trim, floors,
				  fireplaces, radiators and other heating units, shelves, shelf supports, stair
				  treads, stair risers, stair stringers, newel posts, railing caps, balustrades,
				  windows and trim (including sashes, window heads, jambs, sills or stools and
				  wells or troughs), built in cabinets, columns, beams, bathroom vanities,
				  counter tops, and air conditioners; and exterior components such as: painted
				  roofing, chimneys, flashing, gutters and downspouts, ceilings, soffits,
				  fascias, rake boards, corner boards, bulkheads, doors and door trim, fences,
				  floors, joists, lattice work, railings, and railing caps, siding, handrails,
				  stair risers and treads, stair stringers, columns, balustrades, window sills or
				  stools and wells or troughs, casings, sashes, and air conditioners.
10. "Comprehensive environmental lead
				  inspection" or "CELI" means a surface-by-surface investigation of a child care
				  facility, single-family house, dwelling unit and common areas, or premises to
				  determine the presence of lead in paint, dust, soil, and water in order to
				  identify lead hazards or determine compliance with the lead-safe standards in
				  §
											5.8   of
				  this Part.
11. "Conditional
				  Lead-Safe Certificate" or "Form PBLC-15" means a certificate issued by a Lead
				  Inspector, typically at the conclusion of a lead hazard control (LHC) or lead
				  hazard reduction (LHR) project, which certifies that a child care center,
				  single-family house, dwelling unit and common areas, or premises had a
				  Comprehensive Environmental Lead Inspection and meets the conditional lead-safe
				  standards §
											5.8   of this Part for paint,
				  dust, soil, and water. Routine maintenance and renewal inspections are required
				  to re-certify conditional compliance.
12. "Department" or "RIDOH" means the Rhode
				  Island Department of Health.
13.
				  "Director" means the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health or his
				  or her agents, subordinates to whom the Director has delegated the powers and
				  duties vested in the Director by these Regulations.
14. "Dwelling" or "dwelling unit" means an
				  enclosed space used for living and sleeping by human occupants as a place of
				  residence, including, but not limited to a house, an apartment, or condominium,
				  but for the purpose of this chapter, shall not include hotels or "temporary
				  housing."
15. "Environmental lead"
				  means, for the purposes of this Part, inorganic lead contained in paint, dust,
				  soil, and/or water.
16. "EPA" means
				  the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
17. "Family child care home" means a licensed
				  residence where the resident can provide child care for up to six (6) children,
				  or up to eight (8) children with an assistant approved by the Department of
				  Human Services. Family child care homes located in residential buildings
				  encompass the entire single-family house, dwelling unit and common areas, or
				  premises, as applicable.
18. "Field
				  blank" means a new, unused dust wipe that has been exposed to the on-site
				  sampling conditions and analyzed to determine whether the sampling media is
				  below the minimum reporting level of the analyzing laboratory.
19. "First-draw water sample" means a sample
				  of tap water collected after the household water has been unused for at least
				  six (6) hours.
20. "Flushed water
				  sample" means a sample of tap water collected after the tap has been allowed to
				  run at its maximum flow rate until cold, or at least one (1) minute, before the
				  sample collection.
21. "Full
				  Certificate of Lead Conformance" or "LHM- 2-3 " means a certificate issued by a
				  Lead Inspector or Lead Assessor which documents that a single-family house,
				  dwelling unit and common areas or premises meets the lead mitigation standards
				  for interior and exterior paint and interior dust in §
											5.8   of this Part. This
				  certificate expires two (2) years from the interior dust wipe clearance
				  specified in the Interior Certificate of Lead Conformance (Form LHM- 2-2).
22. "Group family child care
				  home" means a residence where the resident can provide child care for eight (8)
				  to twelve (12) children with one (1) or two (2) approved assistants (dependent
				  on enrollment details).
23. "HUD"
				  means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
24. "Interior Certificate of Lead
				  Conformance" or "LHM- 2-2 " means a certificate issued by a Lead Inspector or
				  Lead Assessor which documents that a single-family house, dwelling unit and
				  common areas, or premises meets the lead mitigation standard for interior paint
				  and interior dust in §
											5.8   of this Part. This
				  certificate is based on a weather variance issued between November
				  1st and March 31st and is
				  valid until the following June 30th.
25. "Lead assessor" means a person, either
				  authorized to act as an enforcing officer under the housing code or a
				  designated employee of a Federal, State or municipal agency with jurisdiction
				  over housing, occupational health, child welfare and/or environmental standards
				  who successfully completed a Lead Assessor training course and obtained a
				  license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to conduct lead
				  inspections.
26. "Lead contractor"
				  means any person or entity engage in lead hazard reduction as a business and
				  licensed pursuant to this Part 11 of this Subchapter.
27. "Lead hazard" means a condition that
				  presents a clear and significant health risk to occupants of a child care
				  center, single-family house, dwelling unit and common areas, or premises,
				  particularly where children reside. Lead concentrations in damaged paint,
				  interior dust, bare soil, and/or drinking water which exceed the lead-safe
				  thresholds in §
											5.8   of this Part are an
				  immediate lead exposure hazard requiring corrective action at a regulated
				  facility.
28. "Lead hazard control"
				  or "LHC" means any window replacement and/or interim controls intended to
				  correct lead hazards identified in a lead inspection report or standard
				  treatments to remove lead-based paint and/or minimize lead exposure, which may
				  include measures to reduce the concentration of lead in paint, dust, soil,
				  and/or water using approved treatment methods specified in this Part.
29. "Lead hazard control project" or "LHC
				  project" means a project being done by a Lead Renovation Firm for the purpose
				  of controlling lead hazards. An LHC Clearance Inspection or LHM Clearance
				  Inspection is required at the conclusion of an LHC project.
30. "Lead hazard mitigation inspection" or
				  "LHM inspection" means an inspection of a single-family house, dwelling unit
				  and common areas, or premises by a Lead Inspector or Lead Assessor to determine
				  compliance with the lead mitigation standards in §
											5.8   of this Part, required at
				  unit turnover or once in a twenty-four month (24) period, whichever period is
				  the longer.
31. "Lead hazard
				  mitigation project" or "LHM Project" means a project being done by an owner or
				  designated person for the purpose of mitigating lead hazards. An LHM Inspection
				  is required at the conclusion of an LHM project to obtain a Certificate of Lead
				  Conformance (Form LHM- 2-1), required for non-exempt residential rental
				  units.
32. "Lead hazard reduction"
				  means any action or actions designed to reduce exposure to toxic levels of lead
				  which impose an unacceptable risk of exposure in any dwelling or dwelling unit
				  where a child under the age of six (6) years with environmental intervention
				  blood lead levels or greater resides, or on any premises and may include, but
				  is not limited to: repair, enclosure, encapsulation, or removal of lead based
				  paint and/or lead contaminated dust, soil or drinking water relocation of
				  occupants; and cleanup measure or ongoing maintenance measures which may
				  include, activities and/or measures that do not present an undue risk to
				  children under age six (6).
33.
				  "Lead hazard reduction project" or "LHR project" means a project being done by
				  a Lead Contractor for the purpose of reducing lead hazards. An LHR Clearance
				  Inspection is required at the conclusion of an LHR project.
34. "Lead inspection" means any type of
				  physical investigation of a child care center, single-family house, dwelling
				  unit, or premises to identify the presence of environmental lead, lead hazards,
				  or compliance with the cleaning requirements and lead standards in §
											5.8   of this Part for paint,
				  dust, soil, and/or water.
35. "Lead
				  inspection report" means a written report, on forms provided or approved by the
				  Department, which documents the results of a lead inspection, conducted
				  pursuant to this Part, and includes the visual assessment, field testing,
				  sample analysis results, summary of findings, and, for regulated facilities and
				  target housing, lead hazard reduction or lead hazard control requirements and
				  site-specific recommendations, as applicable.
36. "Lead inspector" means an individual, who
				  successfully completed a certified Lead Inspector training course, passed the
				  Lead Inspector Department examination, completed a supervised field
				  apprenticeship, and obtained a license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter,
				  to conduct lead inspections.
37.
				  "Lead inspector-in-training" means an individual who successfully completed a
				  certified Lead Inspector training course, passed the Lead Inspector Department
				  examination, and obtained a license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to
				  conduct a supervised apprenticeship to meet the requirements for a Lead
				  Inspector license.
38. "Lead
				  renovation firm" means any person or organization engaged in renovation,
				  repair, and painting (RRP) or lead hazard control (LHC) as a business and
				  licensed pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter.
39. "Lead renovator" means an individual who
				  successfully completed a certified Lead Renovator training course and obtained
				  a valid training certificate, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to
				  perform renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) and lead hazard control (LHC)
				  work under the authority of a Lead Renovation Firm license.
40. "Lead Safe" means that a dwelling,
				  dwelling unit, or premises has undergone sufficient, lead-hazard reduction to
				  ensure that no significant, environment lead hazard is present and includes,
				  but is not limited to, covering and encapsulation and is evidenced by a
				  lead-safe certificate issued by the Department of Health.
41. "Lead supervisor" means an individual who
				  successfully completed a certified Lead Supervisor training course, passed the
				  Lead Supervisor Department examination, and obtained a license, pursuant to
				  Part 11 of this Subchapter, to perform and/or supervise lead hazard reduction
				  (LHR) work.
42. "Lead worker" means
				  an individual who successfully completed a certified Lead Worker training
				  course and obtained a license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to
				  perform lead hazard reduction work.
43. "Mitigation report" means the final lead
				  hazard mitigation inspection report and laboratory report.
44. "Owner" means any person who, alone or
				  jointly or severally with others:
a. Shall
				  have legal title to any dwelling or dwelling unit with or without accompanying
				  actual possession of it; or
b.
				  Shall have charge, care, or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit as owner
				  or agent of the owner or an executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of
				  the estate of the owner. Any person representing the actual owner shall be
				  bound to comply with the provisions of this Chapter and with Rules and
				  Regulations adopted pursuant to this Chapter to the same extent as if that
				  person were the owner. An agent of the owner excludes real estate and property
				  management functions where the agent is only responsible for the property
				  management and does not have authority to fund capital and/or major property
				  rehabilitation on behalf of the owner.
c. For purposes of publicly owned property
				  only, the owner shall be defined to be the Chief Executive Officer of the
				  municipal or State agency which owns, leases or controls the use of the
				  property.
45. "Partial
				  Lead-Safe Certificate" or "Form PBLC-27" is a temporary certificate to document
				  that certain rooms/areas or media met the lead-safe standards in §
											5.8   of this Part at the time
				  of the inspection.
46. "Regulated
				  facility" means any child care facility, single-family house, dwelling unit and
				  common areas, or premises as specified in § 3.2.2 of this
				  Subchapter.
47. "Renewal
				  inspection" means the combination of a visual assessment of painted surfaces
				  and environmental lead sampling, when applicable, at premises where lead-based
				  paint or lead-contaminated soil is still present, to determine if the dwelling,
				  dwelling unit, or premises, including soil, has been maintained in a lead-safe
				  condition for renewing the Conditional Lead-Safe Certificate (Form
				  PBLC-15).
48. "Renovation" means
				  the modification of any existing structure, or portion thereof that results in
				  the disturbance of lead-painted surfaces, unless that activity is performed as
				  part of a lead hazard control (LHC) or lead hazard reduction (LHR) project. The
				  term renovation includes, but is not limited to: the removal, modification or
				  repair of painted surfaces or painted components (e.g. modification of painted
				  doors, surface restoration, window repair); surface preparation activities such
				  as sanding, scraping, or other such activities which may generate paint dust;
				  the removal of building components (e.g. walls, ceilings, plumbing, windows);
				  weatherization projects (e.g. cutting holes in painted surfaces to install
				  blown-in insulation or to gain access to attics, planning thresholds to install
				  weather-stripping); and interim controls that disturb lead-painted surfaces. A
				  renovation performed for converting a building, or part of a building, into
				  target housing or child care facilities is a renovation under this Part. The
				  term renovation does not include minor repair and maintenance
				  activities.
49. "Renovation,
				  repair, and painting project" or "RRP project" means a project which is being
				  done by a Lead Renovation Firm for purposes other than removing lead-based
				  paint or correcting lead hazards (although it may result in this). The purpose
				  of an RRP project is to ensure that renovations performed at a regulated
				  facility or for compensation at target housing are done safely and prevent lead
				  exposure to owners, occupants and neighbors of the property where the work is
				  performed. Any additional work which disturbs lead-based paint, other than
				  emergency renovation operations, performed in the same room or area within the
				  same thirty (30) day period must be considered the same RRP project for the
				  purpose of determining whether the work is spot removal or renovation, repair,
				  and painting (RRP).
50. "Supervised
				  lead inspector-in-training" means a Lead Inspector-in-Training who is
				  performing a field apprenticeship under the direct on-site supervision of a
				  Department-approved Lead Inspector for the purpose of meeting the Lead
				  Inspector licensing requirements of Part 11 of this Subchapter.
51. "Visual assessment" means the visual
				  examination of a residential dwelling or a child care facility following a lead
				  hazard control (LHC) project or lead hazard reduction (LHR) project to
				  determine whether the project has been successfully completed; or, the visual
				  examination of a residential dwelling or a child care facility to determine the
				  existence of deteriorated paint or other potential sources of environmental
				  lead exposure as part of a Risk Assessment.
52. "Visual inspection" means a visual
				  inspection by an owner or designated person to determine that the lead
				  mitigation standards in §
											5.8   of this Part were
				  maintained when the term of tenancy is two (2) years or more. A notarized
				  Affidavit of Completion of Visual Inspection must be submitted to the
				  Department every two (2) years until tenant turnover.
53. "X-ray fluorescence analyzer" or "XRF
				  analyzer" means a portable instrument that measures lead concentration using
				  the principle of x-ray fluorescence.