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Lead Paint Poisonings: How Can Innovative Technology Make a Difference?
Citation:
THEROUX, M., J. ENRIQUEZ, S. L. HARPER, D. Kellner, M. Griesberg, AND R. B. SCHAEFER. Lead Paint Poisonings: How Can Innovative Technology Make a Difference? Presented at EPA Science Forum, Washington, DC, May 20 - 22, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation - Slides
Description:
Lead is a toxic metal that may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk. Exposure to lead usually occurs due to the presence of deteriorating lead-based paint (LBP), lead contaminated dust (particularly from renovations), and lead contaminated residential soil. Residents are often not aware that their apartments or homes have lead paint; -therefore, their children become exposed to lead through deteriorating paint, contaminated dust or soil. There are commercially available lead paint and dust test kits; however they often give misleading results and are difficult for consumers to use. In order to achieve better and faster environmental results with the lead paint problem, the ETC's Lead Paint Action Team decided that innovative technology could help reduce lead exposure and lower the cost of abatements. The Team is composed of EPA members from EPA RI, R5, OPPT, and ORD, and external members from HUD, CDC, CPSC, MA and MN. Since 2005, the Team has funded three SBIR technologies: two next generation lead test kits and one dust free lead abatement technology. During the same period, HUD has also funded these technologies for further development and research in related critical areas. In addition, ORD has offered collaborative research opportunities for test kit manufacturers to work with EPA to improve their kits. EPA's goals for this research are to develop a test kit that can reliably be used by a person with minimal training, is inexpensive (under $2 per test), provides results within an hour, and is demonstrated to have a false positive rate of no more than 10% and a false negative rate at 1.0 mg/cm2 or 0.5% by weight of less than 5%. The Team and its' partners are working toward the target of 2009, when the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program will verify test kits for the new Renovation, Remodeling and Painting Rule. The RRP rule requires renovators, remodelers, and painters of pre-1978 housing to test the affected areas for lead paint before beginning renovations, and if lead is present then to use lead safe practices.