Your source for Euroclean HEPA vacuums for containing asbestos, lead based paint and hazardous dust; Pro-Tech carbon monoxide alarms; and Bacharach combustion analyzers, CO testers and gas leak detectors.
Your
source for Euroclean HEPA vacuums for containing asbestos, lead based paint and
hazardous dust; Pro-Tech carbon monoxide alarms; and Bacharach combustion
analyzers, CO testers and gas leak detectors.
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Replacing Doors, Windows and
Trim To Prevent Exposure to Lead This fact sheet explains how to safely remove doors, windows and trim covered with lead-based paint. Replacement means removing the window, door or trim and installing a new unit. Replacement usually creates little dust and is cost-effective. These guidelines have been developed for property owners and contractors. Things to Remember Before You Begin Tools and Materials You Will Need About 75 percent of homes built before 1978 contain some lead-based paint. You should assume that a house painted before 1978 contains some lead-based paint. Older homes may have many layers of paint, and the older layers of paint are more likely to contain lead. These older layers of paint can be disturbed during remodeling. The only way to know if the paint does not contain lead is to have it tested. You can test the paint by using a home test kit available at paint and hardware stores (if allowed in your State), by sending a paint sample to a lab to be analyzed, or by hiring an individual licensed by your State's Department of Health to do a lead evaluation of the home (Contact your State's Department of Health to learn more about testing old paint, dust, drinking water and soil for lead). Anyone involved in remodeling an older home can be exposed to lead in old paint, dust, paint chips, fumes and soil. Lead dust can get on hair, skin and clothing. Lead paint chips, dust and soil can also be tracked into the home. People can be exposed to lead any time they breathe lead dust or fumes, or swallow anything that contains lead. People living in older homes can become lead poisoned during remodeling. People working with lead on the job can also be exposed to lead dust and bring it home to their families. Lead poisoning may cause permanent problems with health, learning and behavior in young children. Adults poisoned by lead can suffer from high blood pressure, kidney damage and fertility problems. The older your home, the more likely it is to contain lead-based paint. Paints containing up to 50 percent lead were used on both the inside and outside of homes through the 1950s. Lead was still used in some household paints manufactured until 1978, although these newer paints usually contained much smaller amounts of lead. Before you begin the job, take a look around the work area to find out what caused the paint to chip or peel. Fix the problem area before you begin to remove, cover or replace the window, door or trim. It is important to set up the work area properly, so it won't be contaminated with lead dust and paint chips. Removing windows, doors and trim can create lead paint dust. This dust can settle on furniture, floors and other surfaces. Family members can easily be exposed to this lead dust if the room is not properly prepared and sealed. The first step is to remove everything from the work area including furniture so these items do not get covered with lead dust. Any items such as bookcases or large furniture that can't be taken out of the room should be covered with six mil poly plastic sheeting and sealed. You can find six mil poly at most hardware stores. A double layer of three mil poly can be substituted for each layer of six mil poly. The poly will help protect the items from being covered in lead dust. Next, turn off all the air heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems in the home. Use caution when you turn off the heating, so the water pipes do not freeze. Close, cover and seal the registers to prevent lead dust from settling in the ducts. Turn off window unit air conditioners and fans in the work area. Cover and seal the window units with six mil poly. Remember to uncover the window units when the job is completed. To protect the floor from being covered in lead dust, roll out two layers of six mil poly 10 feet in each direction from the work area. If you are working in a large area, cover and seal the entire floor with poly. If the job takes longer than one day, remove the top layer of poly and discard it, along with any debris collected in it at the end of the day. Add a new top layer of poly before you begin work the next day. Then close, cover and seal any windows and unused doorways in the work area with poly. Cover the doorways you will be using to enter the work areas by hanging two layers of six mil poly over the doorway. Attach the poly to the top of the doorway with duct tape. Use a utility knife to cut a vertical slit in the top piece of the poly to provide access to the work area. Place a plastic runner on floors to protect the floor from being contaminated by lead dust while carrying cleanup materials and demolition debris outside. Use traction guards when placing runners on stairs. Place washable rugs at the entrance of the work area, and make sure that the people doing the remodeling work remove their shoes or shoe guards before leaving the work area. Use the washable rugs to prevent tracking lead dust into other areas of the home. Removing Doors To remove the door, remove the hinge pins. Then carefully remove the door from the frame. Prepare the door for disposal. Removing Windows Removing Trim and Frames Remove the painted trim or frame from the surface. Sometimes you may want or need to remove the entire frame. Wet mist the area with water. Be sure to turn off the electricity at the fuse box before you mist a surface with an outlet. Put tape over the outlet to keep water out of the outlet. Carefully remove the trim and frame, to minimize the amount of lead dust created. It's important to clean up the work area each day. Cleaning up the contaminated carpet, paint chips, dust and debris will help protect the people living in the home from being exposed to lead. Anyone working with lead can bring the lead dust home to their families on their hair, skin, shoes, clothing and tools. Place the rags, paper towels and mops used during the job and cleanup, and the disposable non-washable clothing and shoe covers in a heavy duty garbage bag and seal. Dispose of this debris in a heavy duty garbage bag. Roll up the poly you used to cover the doorways. Start at the corner and roll the poly inward to capture all the dust which may have settled on it. Tape the poly shut with duct tape. Also roll up both layers of poly used to catch the debris and paint chips. Start at the corner and roll the material inward to capture all of the dust and debris, and tape the poly shut with duct tape. Clean the work area thoroughly, using a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter vacuum or a wet/dry vacuum. The HEPA vacuum has a special filter that picks up and holds very small pieces of lead dust. Use a wet/dry vacuum to vacuum up the wash or rinse water, NOT to pick up dry dust and paint chips. When you use a wet/dry vacuum, be sure to keep about two inches of water in the bottom of the canister. The water will help to hold the lead dust. Do not use your household vacuum to clean up lead dust and paint chips. The filter in the household vacuum is not designed to pick up and hold the fine lead dust, it will just spread the lead dust throughout the house. Once the source of lead has been cleaned up, it is fine to use your household vacuum cleaner for regular cleaning. Next, wet wash the entire work area with a cleaning solution made up of trisodium phosphate (TSP) powder or automatic dishwashing detergent containing phosphate. You can buy TSP at a hardware store. Make the cleaning solution by mixing one tablespoon of TSP, or one tablespoon of automatic dishwashing detergent, with one gallon of water. If you cannot find TSP or automatic dishwashing detergent that contains phosphate, use a household detergent. If you are using a household detergent to make the cleaning solution, mix the detergent according to the directions on the container. Be sure to wear waterproof, chemical resistant rubber gloves when you wet wash the area. Daily wet washing will remove harmful lead dust while you complete the remodeling project. Before you begin cleaning be sure to use the phosphate cleaner on a small area of the surface. If it dulls or harms the surface, add more water to the phosphate cleaning solution. After you wash the area with the cleaning solution, rinse the area with clean water. Be sure to use two separate buckets, one for the cleaning solution, and one for the clean rinse water. Use two separate sets of disposable rags or paper towels one for the washing step and one for the rinse step. Wear waterproof, chemical resistant rubber gloves. After you finish, filter the rinse water through a five micron filter to catch any large pieces of lead debris. These filters are available at building supply stores. If you can't find one, filter the water through a nylon stocking. Let the lead debris in the filter or stocking dry out, and dispose of it as household hazardous waste. Put the rags, paper towels and mops used during the cleanup in a garbage bag and seal. Then vacuum the work area again with the HEPA vacuum or wet/dry vacuum. Wait one hour and repeat the cleanup process. This will allow for the clean up of any lead dust that may have settled. If you have been remodeling a home built before 1978, the paint chips, dust and other debris may contain lead. The person who creates the lead waste is responsible for its disposal (Contractors should call their State's pollution control agency for information about the cleanup and disposal of lead-contaminated waste). Minnesota law (for example) allows property owners to put lead waste in their trash. However, there are a few things to consider. Does your county burn trash after pickup? If so, lead fumes may be released into the air. Call your county offices to find out if they burn trash. If your trash is burned, the MDH (Minnesota Department of Health) recommends that you dispose of lead paint chips and lead debris at a household hazardous waste collection site. Call your county offices for information about the household hazardous waste service in your community. Never burn window and door frames, or pieces of furniture covered with old paint, in your fireplace or wood burning stove. These items may be covered with lead-based paint, and burning them could release dangerous lead fumes into your home and the environment. Keep all waste out of the reach of children and pets until pickup or disposal. Drop cloths, sponges, gloves and disposable, non-washable work clothes used during remodeling and cleanup should be sealed in heavy duty garbage bags. These materials may be covered with lead-based paint dust and chips. If your county burns trash, these materials should be taken to a mixed municipal solid waste landfill for disposal. Larger pieces of demolition debris, such as doors and window frames, should be wrapped in two layers of six mil poly and sealed with duct tape. If your county burns trash, or your garbage hauler will not accept these large pieces, they can be taken to a mixed municipal solid waste landfill, or a demolition debris landfill, for disposal (Call your State's pollution control agency to find out where these collection sites are located. Contact your local garbage hauler to find out which materials they will pick up with your trash). Things to Remember Before You Begin
These guidelines were originally developed by the Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Administration with an advisory group made up of remodeling and lead contractors, and representatives from trade unions, non-profit organizations, housing authorities and government agencies. Revised July 1999. Tools and Materials You Will Need
Reprinted by permission from the Minnesota Dept. of Health Lead Program |
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