EPA News: EPA Settles With West Chester, Pa. Contractor for Alleged Lead Safe Renovation Violations

Contact: R3press@epa.gov 

EPA settles with West Chester, Pa. contractor for alleged violations of "Lead Safe" renovation protections

(PHILADELPHIA) November 28, 2018 – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Chapman Windows and Doors of West Chester, Pennsylvania will pay a $17,500 penalty to resolve alleged violations of the lead-based paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule.

This rule protects the public from toxic lead hazards created by renovation activities involving lead-based paint. RRP safeguards are designed to ensure "lead safe" practices in the renovation and repair activities involving "target housing" built before the 1978 federal ban on lead-based paint. 

EPA alleged during multiple renovations of target housing in West Chester in February 2017 that Chapman Windows and Doors, while working under the parent company Air Tight Home Improvements, violated the RRP "lead safe" requirements by:

* Failing to document whether target housing owners had timely received the required lead hazard information pamphlet titled "Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools;"

* Failing to retain records to document compliance with lead-practices during renovation; and 

* Failing to ensure that the renovators conducting the work were EPA-certified to conduct lead-safe renovations.

As part of the settlement, the company did not admit these alleged violations, but has cooperated with EPA in resolving this matter and certifying its compliance with applicable RRP requirements.

Infants, children, and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, which can cause lifelong impacts including developmental impairment, learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention span, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems. Because of these health risks, the U.S. banned lead-based paint in 1978. However, EPA estimates that lead-based paint is still present in more than 30 million homes nationwide.

For more information on the RRP program, visit http://www.epa.gov/lead/renovation-repair-and-painting-program .

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