Abstract |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Research and Development (ORD) designed and conducted the Lead Paint Test Kits Workshop on October 19 and 20, 2006, at the EPA's Research Triangle Park, NC, campus. The workshop was conducted as part of ORD's support to EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT). OPPT has requested ORD's assistance in lead paint test kit technology development to support the proposed 'Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program; Proposed Rule (RRP rule)' published in the January 10, 2006, Federal Register (pp.1587-1636). The proposed rule supports the attainment of the Federal government's goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning by 2010. In the rule, EPA proposes new requirements to reduce exposures to lead hazards created by renovation, repair, and painting activities that disturb lead-based paint. EPA has proposed the use of EPA-recognized test kits to determine whether the components to be affected are free of regulated lead-based paint. The Federal regulated level is defined as paint containing lead at or above 1.0 mg/cm(sup 2) or 0.5 percent by weight. The Lead Paint Test Kits Workshop provided a forum for technical information exchange among experts from EPA, other government agencies, academia, private industry, and testing and standards organizations regarding the performance of lead test kits. The objectives and discussion areas of the workshop were to obtain information on (1) the accuracy, precision, and cost of lead test kits to determine the amount of lead present in paint in respect to the two Federal standards; (2) the specifications, availability, and costs of testing and reference materials to evaluate the performance of test kits for lead in paint in respect to the Federal standards; and (3) the specifications and availability of protocols to evaluate the performance of test kits for lead in paint in respect to the Federal standards, as well as the cost to perform these protocols. |