Selecting A Lead Contractor
- Hiring a General Contractor
- Essential Maintenance Practice Contractors and List
- Considerations When Hiring a Contractor
- Listing of Licensed Abatement Contractors, Consultants and Labs
Hiring a General Contractor
Before a property owner or homebuyer starts looking for a lead service provider, it's helpful to understand the type of services available:
Abatement - permanently (20 years or more) controls a lead hazard to limit exposure to harmful levels of lead. Abatement includes strategies such as component replacement, paint removal, encapsulation, or permanently covering bare leadcontaminated soil. Specialized cleaning precedes clearance testing, which is always performed at the end of an abatement project to ensure that dust which may be left behind does not contain excessive levels of lead. A certified inspector (who can not be an employee of the abatement contractor) conducts the clearance testing.
Supervisor - (Contractor) is any certified entity or person who is responsible for performance of the actual abatement within a lead abatement project.
Renovation - is the modification of any existing structure, or portion thereof, that results in disturbance of painted surfaces, unless that activity is performed as part of an abatement. Renovation includes, but is not limited to: the removal or modification of painted surfaces or painted components; the removal of large structures (such as walls, ceilings, large surface re-plastering or major re-plumbing); and window replacement.
Home inspection - is what many prospective home buyers obtain to determine if building systems (such as heating and plumbing) are in good working order, and to identify structural problems or other defects (such as roof leaks or peeling paint). A home inspection is not the same as a lead inspection or a lead risk assessment.
Lead consulting services - are performed to evaluate the presence of lead in a structure. Types of lead consulting services include lead inspections and lead risk assessments. These services are performed by certified inspectors and risk assessors.
Lead inspection - is an evaluation performed by a lead inspector or risk assessor to determine the presence or absence of leadbased paint on painted or coated surfaces.
A lead inspection is a surface-by-surface investigation designed to answer two general questions:
- is lead-based paint present?
- if present, where is the lead-based paint?
Lead inspections are generally performed using an XRF (XRay Fluorescence) analyzer, or by collecting paint samples and sending them to an EPA-recognized laboratory for lead analysis. A final inspection report identifies all surfaces with leadbased paint but does not provide the consumer with information about the condition of the paint, the presence of lead contaminated dust or soil, or options for controlling any hazards found.
In order to be exempt from Vermont Essential Maintenance Practices, your building must have an extensive, surface by surface inspection that indicates no lead paint is present.
Lead risk assessment - is an evaluation performed by a certified risk assessor to identify lead hazards from deteriorated paint, dust, and bare soil, and to identify options to control the lead hazards.
Lead Service Provider Checklist
You should ask the contractor or consultant to provide a written proposal that describes what they will do, the content of the final report, schedule, and budget.
The following checklist can help property owners, home buyers, and renters ensure that their lead hazard evaluation or control contractor is trained, qualified, and capable:
- Service provider name.
- Telephone number.
- Certification numbers and copy of lead license.
- When do the certification (licenses) of the listed persons expire?
- Does the service provider have solid references from 3 recent jobs?
- Have you checked enforcement history with the VT Department of Health?
- Does the service provider carry general liability and/or errors-and-omissions insurance with specific coverage for lead?
- How many years of experience does the service provider have in lead work?
- For lead abatement, will the contract specify that a dust clearance test be passed?
- Will the service provider cover costs associated with failing a clearance test (recleaning and retesting)?
- What is the schedule and budget estimate for services?
- What does a sample contract and final inspection, risk assessment or abatement report look like?
We recommend obtaining at least three bids in any category from which you might hire. You may choose to have the inspector/risk assessor consultant assist in getting the bids and hiring of the abatement contractor. You may choose to have the consultant manage the entire process. You can choose to do the hiring yourself, which may reduce any conflict of interest concerns.
In general, conflicts of interest relate to the potential for self-gain - usually, but not always - of a fiscal nature. A potential or actual conflict of interest exists when commitments and obligations are likely to be compromised by a person’s other interests or commitments, especially economic, particularly if those interests or commitments are not disclosed.
State program staff can assist you in providing information regarding on-file enforcement actions concerning lead consultants and contractors. We can also explain the abatement process and answer any other questions you may have. Call 1-800-439-8550 for information.
Essential Maintenance Practices Contractors
An Essential Maintenance Practices (EMP) contractor has taken a four-hour EMP training course to learn how to repair paint safely. The EMP contractor receives a certificate of completion for taking the course. EMPs are required in rental properties and childcare facilities and include:
- Checking the condition of paint and finding paint in poor condition.
- Taking precautions to repair paint.
- Installing liners in the window wells for easy cleaning.
- Taking precautions during remodeling, maintenance, and repair to prevent spread of lead dust.
- Cleaning carefully.
An EMP certified contractor may be a good resource for private homeowners as well.
These measures may reduce lead exposure for the short term. Keeping an eye on the condition of paint is necessary.
Basic Considerations when Selecting a Licensed Lead Abatement Consultant or Contractor
Lead abatement contractors are licensed by the Vermont Department of Health to permanently remove lead paint or lead painted building components. The Department of Health issues a lead abatement permit before the project starts.
The lead abatement contractor also sends their licensed workers to a 24 or 32 hour training course to learn how to fix lead problems. Contact the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) Lead Hazard Reduction Program to apply for financial assistance for lead abatement work. To learn about becoming a lead abatement contractor call the Vermont Department of Health at (800) 439-8550.
Licensed Contractors, Consultants and Laboratories
These entities and consultants have been certified in accordance with the Vermont Regulations for Lead Control. Certified firms and individuals must be used to performing lead-based paint services in Vermont. If you have any questions, please call the Environmental Health Program at (802) 863-7236 or in Vermont (802) 439-8550.
Lead abatement means the removal of lead-based paint and lead contaminated dust, the permanent containment or encapsulation of lead-based paint, the replacement of lead-painted surfaces or fixtures, and the removal or covering of lead contaminated soil.
Categories of contractors include
- Lead Abatement Contractor Companies—target housing, public buildings, commercial buildings
- Lead Abatement Contractor Companies—superstructures and commercial buildings
- Lead Consultant Contractor Companies—services consist of inspections, risk assessments and project designs
- Non-Independent Lead Consulting Entities—institutional: provides services to employer only
- Non-Independent Lead Consultants
- Individual Lead Consultants
- Lead Consultants Associated with a Contractor
- Lead Consultants Employed by the State of Vermont
- Lead Laboratories