Beginning April 22, 2010, federal law required that contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb more than six square feet of paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be trained, certified and meet all Lead Safe Work Practices to prevent lead-based paint dust contamination. The Department of Health estimates 1.2 million homes in Washington have lead based paint. Our goal is to help customers identify these issues and provide common sense recommendations to protect their families.Approximately 75 percent of homes in Seattle area built prior to 1978 contain at least some lead paint. The likelihood that lead paint was used in a home increases with the structure’s age. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that at least 19 million homes present lead-based paint hazards. In addition, A national study found that nearly all housing units built before 1940 had some amount of lead in their yards, probably from deteriorated exterior paint and leaded gasoline. In this study, of those yards of homes built before 1940 in which patches of bare soil were tested, 43 percent had lead levels above 400 ppm, the EPA threshold for a lead hazard.
