LEAD-BASED PAINT

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

LEAD-BASED PAINT

The regulatory scheme for lead depends upon the source. Lead from
industrial use or munitions may be addressed under RCRA (Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act) or CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or "Superfund" law).
Lead-based paint is addressed under EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act
(ToSCA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Title X
regulations.

According to Defense Environmental Alert (February 10, 1998), EPA and
the Defense Department have partially resolved a long-standing debate
over LEAD-BASED PAINT IN RESIDENTIAL SOILS. The two agencies have agreed
to prepare a guide book that will address how to sample and abate such
hazards.

If lead is present from industrial operations, it may make sense to
abate paint-in-soil along with other lead hazards under CERCLA, but that
is likely to be uncommon. Also, the rules on when to abate lead-based
paint in non-residential soil will be more flexible. In particular, "EPA
does not believe that sampling needs to occur in all industrial areas so
the agency may only require that lease and transfer documents contain a
notification stating a lead hazard risk may be present, the EPA source
says."

Lenny Siegel
Director, SFSU CAREER/PRO (and Pacific Studies Center)
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org