Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 216 - Department of health › Chapter 50 - Environmental health › Subchapter 15 - HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT › Part 3 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Compliance and Enforcement › Section 216-RICR-50-15-3.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Whenever used in this Part, the following
				  terms must be construed as follows:
1. "Act"
				  means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-24.6 entitled "Lead Poisoning
				  Prevention."
2. "Agent" means any
				  person authorized, in writing or otherwise, by an owner to act on behalf of or
				  represent the interests of the owner. For purposes of §
											3.5   of this Part, an agent is
				  any designated client representative, transaction facilitator, transaction
				  coordinator, or dual facilitator as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §
											5-20.6-2 who enters into a contract
				  with a seller or lessor with the objective of selling or leasing real estate,
				  but does not include designated client representative for the buyer.
3. "Approved" means approved by the
				  Department, State, or local authority having legal and administrative authority
				  for such.
4. "Cease work order"
				  means an order issued by a State Inspector to immediately stop regulated
				  activities, being conducted in violation of this Part, until the violator can
				  demonstrate their ability to comply with the Department.
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 day 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 center also encompasses the exterior sides of the building that
				  are immediately adjacent to the child care center and the exterior common areas
				  or play areas routinely used by children.
7. "Child day care" means daily care and/or
				  supervision offered commercially to the public for any part of a twenty-four
				  (24) hour day to children away from their homes.
8. "Child day care center" means any person,
				  firm, corporation, association, or agency who, on a regular or irregular basis,
				  receives any child under the age of sixteen (16) years, for the purpose of care
				  and/or supervision, not in a home or residence, apart from the child's parent
				  for any part of a twenty-four (24) hour day irrespective of compensation or
				  reward. It shall include childcare programs that are offered to employees at
				  the worksite. It does not include nursery schools or other programs of
				  educational services subject to approval by the commissioner of elementary and
				  secondary education.
9. "Childhood
				  lead poisoning" means, for the purposes of this Part, aconfirmed blood lead
				  level equal to or greater than five micrograms per deciliter (5
				  µg/dL).
10. "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.
11. "Department" means the
				  Rhode Island Department of Health.
12. "Director" means the Director of the
				  Rhode Island Department of Health or his/her designee.
13. "Dwelling" means an enclosed space which
				  is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human
				  occupants as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4(5).
14. "Dwelling unit" means any room or group
				  of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with
				  facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking,
				  and eating as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4(6). For
				  the purposes of this Part, a dwelling unit includes all relative interior and
				  exterior common areas including soil.
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. "Expected to reside" means actual
				  knowledge that a child will occupy a single-family house or dwelling unit
				  within the next twelve (12) months for fourteen (14) or more consecutive or
				  nonconsecutive days per year. If a resident woman is known to be pregnant,
				  there is actual knowledge that a child will reside in her dwelling
				  unit.
18. "Foster home" means
				  placement of a child in temporary custody or custody of DCYF in a foster family
				  home or in a private or public child care facility which is licensed by the
				  State. (See R.I. Gen. Laws §
											40-11-12.1(h))
19. "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.
20.
				  "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).
21. "Housing for the elderly or persons with
				  disabilities" means retirement communities and other housing reserved for
				  households composed of one (1) or more persons sixty-two (62) years of age or
				  older, or other age if recognized as elderly by a specific federal housing
				  assistance program, or persons with disabilities, and is owned, managed by, or
				  for which the rent is subsidized or paid by a Federal, State or local
				  government housing agency.
22.
				  "HUD" means the United States Department of Housing and Urban
				  Development.
23. "Immediate
				  Compliance Order" means an order issued by the Director to immediately stop
				  specified activities which pose a threat to the health or safety of children,
				  occupants, workers, or the public.
24. "Interim controls" means a set of
				  measures designed to temporarily reduce human exposure to lead hazards,
				  including specialized cleaning, repairs, maintenance, painting, non-permanent
				  encapsulation or enclosure, and ongoing monitoring of lead-based paint or
				  potential lead hazards, and the establishment and operation of management and
				  resident education programs.
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-based paint" means any paint or
				  other surface coating that contains lead in excess of the Lead-Safe thresholds
				  specified in §
											5.8   of this
				  Subchapter.
27. "Lead contractor"
				  means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4, any person or entity
				  engage in lead hazard reduction as a business that includes consultants who
				  design, perform, oversee, or evaluate lead hazard reduction projects undertaken
				  pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
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 mitigation" or "LHM" means
				  spot removal or minor repair and maintenance activities by a property owner or
				  designated person in a residential rental unit intended to correct lead
				  hazards, which may include measures to reduce friction or stabilize paint using
				  approved treatments and work methods specified in this Part.
30. "Lead hazard reduction" or "LHR" means,
				  as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4, 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). See "Lead Contractor."
31. "Lead inspector" means an individual, who
				  successfully completed a certified Lead Inspector training course, passed the
				  Lead Inspector State examination, completed a supervised field apprenticeship,
				  and obtained a license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to conduct lead
				  inspections.
32. "Lead
				  professional" means an occupational grouping of individuals and organizations
				  licensed or certified pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter.
33. "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.
34. "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.
35.
				  "Lead safe" means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4, that a dwelling,
				  dwelling unit, or premises has undergone sufficient lead hazard reduction to
				  ensure that no significant environmental lead hazard is present and includes
				  but is not limited to covering and encapsulation.
36. "Lead-safe standard" means lead in paint,
				  dust, soil and water below the Lead-Safe thresholds in §
											5.8   of this Subchapter or
				  intact paint and covered soil above the lead safe thresholds in §
											5.8   of this
				  Subchapter.
37. "Lead screening"
				  means a method for identifying an asymptomatic child at high risk of having
				  childhood lead poisoning from a population of children not previously diagnosed
				  as having lead poisoning or in a child not exhibiting signs or symptoms
				  believed to be related to lead poisoning, including the obtaining of the
				  necessary specimen(s) for a blood lead screening test, and specimen handling
				  and preparation.
38. "Lease" means
				  any agreement, written or oral, between a lessor and lessee concerning the
				  rent, use and occupancy of a residential dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises
				  subject to the provisions of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (R.I. Gen.
				  Laws Chapter 34-18).
39. "Lessee"
				  means a person named as the renter in a rental agreement or occupancy agreement
				  for a single-family house, dwelling unit, or premises. See "Occupant" and
				  "Tenant."
40. "Lessor" means any
				  person who offers to rent, lease, or sublease a single family house, dwelling
				  unit, or premises.
41. "License"
				  means an authorization granted by the Department to engage in a business or
				  occupation that is subject to regulation by the Department. For the purposes of
				  this Part, a registration, certification, permit or similar authorization
				  issued by the Department is also considered to be a license.
42. "
Lis pendens
" means
				  "suit pending" in Latin.
Lis pendens
is taken as constructive
				  notice of a pending lawsuit or an existing unsettled Department enforcement
				  action and it serves to place a cloud on the title of the property in question
				  until the enforcement action or suit is resolved and/or the
lis
				  pendens
is released.
43.
				  "Mechanical paint removal" means the use of any mechanical force to remove
				  paint from a surface, including, but not limited to, electrical or other power
				  equipment or abrasive blasting.
44.
				  "Minor repair and maintenance" means work activities, including minor heating,
				  ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) work, electrical work, or plumbing
				  work that disturbs less than six square feet (6 ft2)
				  of lead-based paint per room for interior activities or less than twenty square
				  feet (20 ft2) of lead based-paint for exterior
				  activities where none of the work practices prohibited or restricted by this
				  Part are used and where the work does not involve window replacement or
				  demolition of painted surfaces. For the purposes of this Part, the term minor
				  repair and maintenance shall be synonymous with spot removal. See "Spot
				  removal."
45. "Mortgagee" means a
				  person or entity, usually a bank or financial institution, who is the party to
				  a mortgage who makes a loan and holds mortgaged property as security for
				  repayment of the loan. A mortgagee is not considered an owner unless such
				  person has taken full legal title through foreclosure, deed in lieu of
				  foreclosure, or otherwise.
46.
				  "Noncompliance" or "nonconformance" or "failure to comply" or "violation" means
				  any act or failure to act which constitutes or results in or from:
a. Engaging in any activity prohibited by, or
				  not in compliance with, any law administered by the Director or any Rule,
				  Regulation, notice, license, certification, consent agreement or order adopted
				  pursuant to the Director's authority;
b. Engaging in any business or other activity
				  without a necessary permit, license, certification, or approval that is
				  required by law or Regulation; and/or
c. The failure to perform, or the failure to
				  perform in a timely fashion, anything required by a law administered by the
				  Director or by a Rule, Regulation, notice, license, certification, consent
				  agreement or order adopted and/or issued pursuant to the Director's
				  authority.
47. "Notice of
				  violation" means a legal notice issued by the Department to an owner of a
				  property where a Department-initiated lead inspection identified lead hazards.
				  A Notice of Violation requires corrective action, pursuant to Part 8 of this
				  Subchapter.
48. "Occupant" means,
				  as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4, any person who legally
				  resides in, or regularly uses, a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure;
				  provided, however, that a guest of any age shall not be considered an occupant
				  for the purposes of this Part. See "Lessee" and "Tenant."
49. "Order" means the whole or a part of an
				  action, finding, declaration or disposition by the Department, whether
				  affirmative, negative, injunctive or declaratory in form, other than rulemaking
				  but including notices of violation, orders to correct, compliance orders,
				  permits, certifications, licenses, and approvals issued pursuant to the
				  Director's authority.
50. "OSHA"
				  means the United States Occupational Safety and Health
				  Administration.
51. "Owner" means
				  as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws §
											23-24.6-4, 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.
52. "Paint"
				  means any substance applied to a surface as a surface coating, including, but
				  not limited to, household paints, varnishes and stains.
53. "Painted surface" means a component
				  surface covered in whole or in part with paint or other surface
				  coatings.
54. "Painted surface to
				  be disturbed" means a painted surface that is to be stripped, scraped, sanded,
				  cut, penetrated or otherwise affected by renovation or rehabilitation work in a
				  manner that could potentially create a lead hazard by generating dust, fumes,
				  or paint chips.
55. "Person" means
				  any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or organization,
				  including municipal and State agencies.
56. "Premises" means, as defined by R.I. Gen.
				  Laws §
											23-24.6-4, a platted lot or part
				  thereof or unplatted lot or parcel of land, occupied by a dwelling or structure
				  and includes any building, accessory structure or other structure thereon which
				  is or will be frequently used by children under the age of six (6)
				  years.
57. "Purchaser" means any
				  person who purchases or enters into a contractual agreement to gain legal title
				  to a dwelling, condominium, or residential premises.
58. "Real estate" means any property
				  consisting of land and the buildings on it.
59. "Renovation, repair, and painting" or
				  "RRP" means activities being done by a Lead Renovation Firm typically performed
				  at the option of the property owner for aesthetic or other reasons, or as an
				  interim control to minimize lead hazards. RRP is not designed to permanently
				  eliminate lead-based paint. Since RRP projects can disturb lead-based paint in
				  homes and buildings built before 1978, thus creating new lead hazards,
				  individual renovators must be trained and certified, use lead-safe work
				  practices, and firms must be licensed. 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).
60. "Residential dwelling" means a building
				  containing one (1) or more residential dwelling units.
61. "Second notice of violation" or
				  "2nd NOV" means a legal notice issued by the
				  Department to an owner who did not meet the requirements of the (first) Notice
				  of Violation. The Department shall post the Second Notice of Violation at the
				  property and record it as a
lis pendens
with the Recorder of
				  Deeds in the city/town where the property is located. See "Notice of
				  Violation."
62. "Seller" means any
				  person who has the authority to transfer legal title to real estate.
63. "Spot removal or
de
				  minimis
" means minor repair and maintenance activities, which do not
				  involve window replacement, interior mechanical paint removal, or demolition of
				  painted surface areas, and disturb less than six square feet (6
				  ft2) of interior lead-based paint per room or less
				  than twenty square feet (20 ft2) of exterior
				  lead-based paint, and provided that no prohibited work practices are used. When
				  removing painted components, or portions of painted components the entire
				  surface area removed is the amount of lead-based paint being disturbed. Any
				  additional work which disturbs lead-based paint, performed in the same room or
				  area within the same thirty (30) day period of an RRP project must be
				  considered the same RRP project and not spot removal.
64. "State inspector" means the Director, his
				  or her designee, or any inspector employed by the Department who is authorized
				  by the director to conduct comprehensive environmental lead inspections and/or
				  other inspections for the Department.
65. "Target housing" means any pre-1978
				  residential dwelling, except housing for the elderly or persons with
				  disabilities or zero (0) bedroom units in which no child resides.
66. "Temporary lead hazard control measures"
				  means a set of measures designed to temporarily reduce human exposure or likely
				  exposure to lead hazards, including but not limited to, specialized cleaning,
				  temporary containment (e.g. plastic sheeting and/or duct tape), ongoing
				  monitoring, and the establishment and operation of lead management and resident
				  education programs.
67. "Tenant"
				  means any person, other than the owner, who enters into an agreement to rent,
				  lease, or sublease a single-family house, dwelling unit, or premises. See
				  "Lessee or Occupant."
68.
				  "Zero-bedroom dwelling unit" means any residential dwelling unit in which the
				  living area is not separated from the sleeping area, including, but not limited
				  to, efficiencies, studio apartments, dormitory or single room occupancy
				  housing, and military barracks.