How much do you know about protecting yourself from lead-based paint hazards? If you need to get more familiar with lead safety, Advance Mold Remediation is here to get you in the know. Read now to get more familiar.

It is always crucial to disclose information about lead-based paint hazards when you have tenants renting, not just for the health of tenants but for you as a landlord to avoid violating federal laws.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), created a disclosure rule under the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act that made sellers and landlords of residential housing built before 1978 to disclose to both purchasers and tenants the presence of known lead-based paint hazards or lack of knowledge of lead hazards.

The disclosure, you as a landlord must provide, includes a lead hazard information pamphlets, a standard warning statement in the lease on the dangers of lead- based paint and include disclosure and acknowledgment language in the lease of property.

For any landlord that does not provide required lead hazard information and lead hazard disclosures, the EPA will propose a penalty for alleged violations after giving after a landlord has the opportunity to respond to complaints. Under the Disclosure Rule, the statutory maximum penalty for violations of the Disclosure Rule is $11,000 per violation.

The EPA has intent to cooperate with federal, state and local agencies to protect tenants and homeowners from the health risks of lead-based paint.

Lead based paint is very dangerous for all building occupants. With high blood levels, tenants and homeowners can suffer permanent damage to the nervous system and widespread health problems. Some of these health problems include reduced intelligence, short attention span, hearing loss, stunted growth, behavioral difficulties and reading and learning problems. The most vulnerable group to lead-base paint hazards are young children because it affects their nervous systems while they are still developing.

Protect your property from lead based paint hazards, hire Advance Mold Remediation.

Advance Mold Remediation, a mold remediation company, can inspect your home for mold. If mold is present, we can safely do a mold cleanup. Excess mold growth is extremely dangerous. Let Advance Mold Remediation protect your property and health from mold today.

For professional help and questions on remediation, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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Source: Lead Safety Guide: RRP Training For Employees

Have you heard about Virginia deregulating mold inspection? If you have not heard, Advance Mold Remediation is here to give you all the details you will need to know about how these deregulations could affect you. Read now for details.

Recently the Virginia legislature approved Governor Bob McDonnell’s plan to streamline government by eliminating needless licensing and regulatory requirements. The bill that was approved deregulates mold remediators and mold inspectors.

The bill that was proposed in January is expected to go into effect July 1^st.  The state of Virginia feels that deregulating will help remediators and mold inspectors to be better served because they will no longer be regulated by the state.

Previously, the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, Mold and Home Inspectors regulated the licensure of mold inspectors and mold remediators from 1993 to the present.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not see a need to regulate mold remediation residential homes. By EPA standards, Virginia over regulates.

The bill that will take effect July 1^st includes eliminating two state agencies, merging seven state agencies into others, eliminating 19 boards and commissions, and merging 23 boards and commissions to form 11 boards and commissions.

Virginia hopes by deregulating mold inspection, the state can cut government in a tough economy where families and businesses alike are struggling to make ends meet.

Never try to handle mold cleaning on your own, hire Advance Mold Remediation, the most trusted name in mold remediation.

Advance Mold Remediation, a mold remediation company, can inspect your home for mold. If mold is present, we can safely do a mold cleanup. Excess mold growth is extremely dangerous. Let Advance Mold Remediation protect your property and health from mold today.

For professional help and questions on remediation, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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Source: Virginia Deregulates Mold Inspection

If you haven’t been keeping up with politics, President Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 is composed of substantial cutbacks for the indoor environment industry.

The Centers for Disease Control asthma and lead initiatives would merge into a Healthy Homes and Community Environment initiative. The budget request for this program is $27 million.

As for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget, the State Indoor Radon Grant (SIRG) program would be eliminated. EPA budget for radon would drop $2 million.

Yes, the radon program is important because it has protected human health for over 23 years through the SIRG funding but the President is aiming to eliminate it to support states in establishing their own programs to protect human health without SIRG. The Republican-led house of representatives wants more cuts.

Currently, the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) is trying to restore federal funding to fight against lead paint and asthma by gaining support from key members of Congress. Although, a scientific panel reports lead in older homes harms children at much lowers levels than previously believed.

The goal of EPA is to discover what programs are best serving its purpose and mission.

To protect your property from indoor environment risk, hire Advance Mold Remediation.

Advance Mold Remediation, a mold remediation company, can inspect your home for mold. If mold is present, we can safely do a mold cleanup. Excess mold growth is extremely dangerous. Let Advance Mold Remediation protect your property and health from mold today.

For professional help and questions on remediation, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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Source: Obama Budget Includes Cuts for IAQ Programs

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is stepping up its inspections and enforcement of the Lead Rule for renovation, repair and painting (RRP). This article will provide you the details on the increased enforcements of the Lead Rule.

The EPA’s Waste and Chemical Enforcement Division is weighting violations more heavily for RRP that is more inclined to directly harm human health. The EPA is serious about the enforcement. For example, in Alabama the Department of Public Health has put a large amount of contractors on notice that worked on building homes before 1978. Those contractors must have training in dealing with lead-based paint. All those who do not take training will have their EPA licenses taken away from them.

Why is the punishment so severe? The answer comes from lead paint being banned in 1978. The RRP rule is being implemented to regulate renovations of older homes that still have the presence of lead paint. Congress has tried to rebuke this regulation many times.

The EPA has taken three enforcement actions in 38 states of the United States to oversee the RRP enforcement. Out of the 38 states, 12 states enforce their own Lead Rule (Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin).

The purpose of the enforcement is to ensure companies are using proper lead-safe work practices, accomplishing proper training of employees and professionally record keeping guidelines.

Lead paint exposure in the home is a serious public health concern. Lead poisoning could be prevented when lead paint disclosure requirements are followed. Read more details about the Lead Rule here.

If you need to resolve lead paint, mold or water damage today in your basement, contact Advance Mold Remediation.

For professional help and questions on remediation, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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Source: EPA Official Promises More Enforcement of Lead Rule

Three states have been making changes that will affect indoor environmental professionals. The three states are Virginia, Georgia, and Michigan. Read below to learn what each state has been doing to change IAQ Policies.

Virginia

New laws are affecting individuals and businesses regulated by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). The Senate Bill 1375 creates a licensure program focused on residential building energy analysts. Recommendations to improve energy consumption and efficiency will be mandatory to receive a licensure issued by the Virginia Board for Contractors.

The Qualifications for licensure are under development by the board. The new developments of the regulatory process can be followed through the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website.

As for HB 1610 and SB 942, these policies require disclosure about defective imported Chinese drywall in real estate transactions. Any real estate licensees with real knowledge of defective drywall and fail to disclose this knowledge will be subject to disciplinary action by the board of Real Estate.

Georgia

The state of Georgia now has the authority to administer and enforce EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program. The EPA appreciates the leadership Georgia is demonstrating by protecting children from being exposed to lead based paint.

The RRP program mandates that contractors, property managers and people working for compensation in both homes and child occupied facilities.

Michigan

The Department of Treasury in Michigan has made its smoke free air law increase sales tax from 2.73% to 2.84% in taverns with beer and wine only, nightclubs, family restaurants, cafeterias and fast food pizza. Taverns with liquor are seeing 1.57% decrease in year over year sales tax collections. Taverns with beer and wine only have seen 1.54% increase since May.

For information on IAQ policies in these three states, read this article from Ieconnections.com.

For professional help and questions on remediation contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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Need Lead Renovations done? Then you should be informed about the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recent roadblock in implementing its Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule because the EPA has not been able to approve a reliable lead test as mandated by its own regulations.

In addition to this roadblock, the EPA decided to not impose new lead dust-sampling and laboratory analysis requirements as part of the LRRP rule. The EPA decided to not impose this requirement because the EPA believed adding this procedure on the highly strict mandatory requirements would not be necessary.

This regulation went into effect, last year, April 22, 2010. The regulation makes contractors who perform work on homes built before 1978 to be EPA-certified. If the contractors are not EPA-certified, they can face fines up to $37,500 per violation per day.

The contractors that require this EPA-certification including the following: Property managers. Landlords. General contractors. Remodeling contractor such as plumbers, painters and electricians.

For those believing this regulation is too strict, a few members of Congress are trying to decrease the strictness of the regulation. Congress somewhat succeeded at this task in July when EPA announced it would not impose lead dust clearance as an addendum to LRRP. The EPA believes the existing lead-safe work practices and clean up requirements of 2010 are suitable in protecting people from lead dust hazards that were created during renovations jobs. In other words, there should be no need for additional clearance requirements. The EPA decided not to add additional Lead Clearance testing because the result would have been higher overall price tags for projects. If price tags for projects increase too much, homeowners are more inclined to work on do-it-yourself projects or hire non-certified individuals to do work. The EPA did not want to increase the potential of this risk occurring.

To learn more about the final LRRP Rule by the EPA read this article More Roadblocks for EPA’s Lead Renovation Rule by Tom Scarlett on Ieconnections.com.

Or for professional help and questions on Lead Renovations, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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Until the Environmental Protection Agncy (EPA) approves a reliable lead test (mandated in its own regulations), it will not be able to enforce its Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (LRRP). This article from Indoor Environment Connections goes into greater detail about the regulation, which went into effect 22 April 2010.

The LRRP requires contractors, landlords, plumbers, remodelers, property managers, painters, window and floor installation professionals, and electricians who work with homes built before 1978 to be EPA-certified or face fines up to $37,500 per violation.

Yet, despite the intent of the LRRP (minimizing the spread of hazardous lead paint), the regulation continues to face repeated efforts by Congress to either water it down or kill it. To at least appease some of its detractors, the EPA announced it would not impose lead dust clearance as an addendum to the LRRP, which would have included expensive lead-dust sampling and laboratory analysis. It was concluded that enforcing additional testing would result in higher costs and cause more homeowners to attempt dangerous renovations themselves, which would not only put homeowners in harmful positions, but would also negatively impact certified contractors who would be unable to compete with rising remodeling costs.

Further opposition to the LRRP came in the form of The House appropriations amendment, sponsored by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), more commonly referred to as the Rehberg amendment. This amendment would lift the burden of LRRP compliance and its costs from thousands of consumers in homes that otherwise would have tested negative, because of unreliable test kits. The EPA, which was supposed to approve a lead test kit, which produced no more than 10% false positive and 5% false negative, has failed to do so. Instead, the test kits used today have been known to produce false positives as high as 60% of the time.

The Rehberg amendment has moved to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

If you have any questions, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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With the recent string of natural disasters that have plagued the nation bringing countless clean up and repair efforts to these devastated cities and towns, a very real, new threat has been uncovered – lead-based paint.

This form of paint was used in more than 38 million homes until it was eventually banned for residential use in 1978, and has been linked to reduced IQ, learning disabilities, developmental delays, and behavioral problems in children. While lead paint is very detrimental to the development of young children, it can still have a very negative effect on adults, as well.

This article from Indoor Environment Connections goes into greater detail about this threat and what the United States Environmental Protection Agency plans to do to minimize lead exposure.

The EPA has issued a warning, urging children and pregnant women to stay away from work areas to avoid exposure to lead-contaminated dust, one of the most significant sources of lead exposure – especially for children. The EPA is also suggesting that workers take precautions, when working on construction surfaces, to prevent the spread of lead dust.

Common renovation efforts – like sanding, cutting, and demolition – can create hazardous lead dust and chips, which can be harmful to both children and adults. This threat is even more likely due to the fact that many of the federal Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule requirements, which are put in place to lessen the spread of lead-based dust, do not apply because of the nature of the emergency clean up efforts. Other non-emergency renovation activities remain subject to the rule’s requirements.

If you have any questions, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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The construction of attics and concrete slabs has historically been done as a simple, cost-effective way to support a floor or roof. Because of this, the impact these two areas have on a home’s energy costs and ability to keep mold at bay is often overlooked. The old saying “out of sight, out of mind,” comes to mind when thinking of attics/slabs. Because the public rarely ever sees these areas, architects often ignore the affects attics and slabs have on the environment and energy costs.

So what can you do? This article from Indoor Environmental Connections explains.

The energy loss and potential mold growth associated with attics/slabs can negatively affect not only your wallet, but your health, as well. Mold growth has been linked to asthma, allergies, respiratory distress and other, more serious, health problems. To make things worse, many people place their HVAC systems in their attics, which simply spreads mold spores throughout the building – greatly affecting indoor air quality.

The technology and know-how does exist, however, to construct smarter attics and concrete slabs into new buildings. Additionally, the technology exists to retrofit many of these aspects into existing attics and slabs (though this process is sometimes time consuming).

So ask a professional about your options. Get your attic or concrete slab inspected and see what you could do to make your home more energy-efficient and mold resistant. If you have any questions, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced the Lead: Renovation, Repair and Paint (RRP) Rule, which concerns renovations on homes containing pre-1978 lead paint. The regulation requires clearance testing to detect the presence, or lack, of lead following any home renovation. The RRP also requires that contractors, plumbers, electricians, painters, window installers and even wood floor refinishers, who performs work in homes built before 1978, be EPA-certified of face fines up to $37,500 per violation per day.

A group of senators, however, is not amused. They have asked the president’s Office of Management Budget (OMB) to review the regulation, hoping the department will repeal the EPA’s regulation. The OMB has the authority to modify regulations even after they are issued by a regulatory agency if they find substantial evidence of a regulation’s negative effect on the United State’s economy.

The senators believe that these additional testing costs will drive homeowners to either attempt dangerous renovations themselves or hire uncertified individuals for renovation projects. The EPA, on the other hand, does not share the senators’ concerns. They have stated that the rule will remain in place until further notice.

OMB has no current plans to review the EPA’s controversial regulation.

If you have any questions, contact Advance Mold Remediation by calling 1-877-411-MOLD or click here today!

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