La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § III-2811

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section III-2811 - Work Practice Standards for Conducting LeadBased Paint Activities for Target Housing and Child-Occupied Facilities

A. Applicability and Terms

1. All lead-based paint activities shall be performed in accordance with the work practice standards contained in this Section, except when treating paint-lead hazards of less than 2 square feet of deteriorated lead-based paint per room or equivalent, 20 square feet of deteriorated paint on the exterior of a building, or 10 percent of the total surface area of deteriorated paint on an interior or exterior type of component with a small surface area.

2. When performing an inspection, lead-hazard screen, risk assessment, or abatement, an accredited individual must perform that activity in compliance with the appropriate requirements contained in this Section.

3. Hazards related to paint, dust, and soil shall be determined as follows.

a. Lead-based paint is present on any surface that is tested and found to contain lead equal to or in excess of 1.0 milligrams per square centimeter or equal to or in excess of 0.5 percent by weight, and on any surface like a surface tested in the same room equivalent that has a similar painting history and that is found to be lead-based paint.

b. A paint-lead hazard shall be considered present:

i. on any friction surface that is subject to abrasion and where the lead dust levels on the nearest horizontal surface underneath the friction surface (e.g., the window sill or floor) are equal to or greater than the dust hazard levels defined in this Chapter;

ii. on any chewable lead-based paint surface on which there is evidence of teeth marks;

iii. where there is any damaged or otherwise deteriorated lead-based paint on an impact surface that is caused by impact from a related building component (such as a door knob that knocks into a wall or a door that knocks against its door frame); and

iv. if there is any other deteriorated lead-based paint in any residential building or child-occupied facility or on the exterior of any residential building or child-occupied facility.

c. A dust-lead hazard shall be considered present:

i. in a residential dwelling or child-occupied facility on floors and interior window sills where the weighted arithmetic mean lead loading for all single surface or composite samples of floors and interior window sills are 10 micrograms per square foot or greater for floors and 100 micrograms per square foot or greater for interior window sills, respectively;

ii. on floors or interior window sills in an unsampled residential dwelling in a multi-family dwelling, if a dust-lead hazard is present on floors or interior window sills, respectively, in at least one sampled residential unit on the property; and

iii. on floors or interior window sills in an unsampled common area in a multi-family dwelling, if a dust-lead hazard is present on floors or interior window sills, respectively, in at least one sampled common area in the same common area group on the property.

d. A soil-lead hazard shall be considered present:

i. in a play area when the soil-lead concentration from a composite play area sample of bare soil is equal to or greater than 400 parts per million; or

ii. in the rest of the yard, when the arithmetic mean lead concentration from a composite sample (or arithmetic mean of composite samples) of bare soil from the rest of the yard (i.e., non-play areas) for each residential building on a property is equal to or greater than 1,200 parts per million.

4. Clearance levels that are appropriate for the purposes of this Section are listed as follows:

a. dust wipes from floors/carpets: less than 10 micrograms per square foot;

b. dust wipes on window sills: less than 100 micrograms per square foot;

c. dust wipes on window troughs: less than 400 micrograms per square foot;

d. dust wipes from exterior surfaces: less than 400 micrograms per square foot;

e. lead-contaminated bare soil and lead-contaminated covered soil in areas expected to be used by children: 400 micrograms per gram; and

f. lead-contaminated covered soil in areas where contact by children is less likely or infrequent: 1200 micrograms per gram.

5. If using X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) to test for the presence of lead-based paint, XRF shall be used according to the manufacturer's procedures. The XRF must be licensed in accordance with the department's Radiation Protection Regulations (LAC 33:XV).

B. Inspection

1. An inspection shall be conducted only by an accredited inspector or an accredited risk assessor according to the procedures in this Subsection.

2. When conducting an inspection, the following locations shall be selected according to documented methodologies and tested for the presence of lead-based paint:

a. in a residential dwelling and child-occupied facility, each component with a distinct painting history and each exterior component with a distinct painting history, except those components that the inspector or risk assessor determines to have been replaced after 1978 or to not contain lead-based paint; and

b. in a multi-family dwelling or child-occupied facility, each component with a distinct painting history in every common area, except those components that the inspector or risk assessor determines to have been replaced after 1978 or to not contain lead-based paint.

3. Paint shall be sampled in the following manner:

a. paint shall be analyzed to determine the presence of lead using documented methodologies that incorporate adequate quality control procedures; and/or

b. all collected paint chip samples shall be analyzed by a recognized laboratory to determine the concentration of lead.

4. The accredited inspector or the accredited risk assessor shall prepare an inspection report that shall include the following information:

a. date of each inspection;

b. address of building;

c. date of construction;

d. apartment numbers (if applicable);

e. name, address, and telephone number of the owner or owners of each residential dwelling or child-occupied facility;

f. name, signature, and accreditation number of each inspector and/or risk assessor conducting testing;

g. name, address, and telephone number of the licensed contractor employing each inspector and/or risk assessor, if applicable;

h. name, address, and telephone number of each recognized laboratory conducting an analysis of collected samples;

i. each testing method and device and/or sampling procedure employed for paint analysis, including quality control data and, if used, the serial number of any XRF device;

j. specific locations and the condition (i.e., good, fair, poor) of each painted component tested for the presence of lead-based paint;

k. all sample data; and

l. results of the inspection expressed in terms appropriate to the sampling method used.

C. Lead Hazard Screen

1. A lead hazard screen shall be conducted only by an accredited risk assessor to determine the absence of a lead-based paint hazard in target housing and child-occupied facilities constructed after 1960. Lead hazard screens or similar lead hazard surveys shall not be used to determine the extent of lead-based paint hazards in target housing and child-occupied facilities.

2. If any dust sample collected during the screen contains a lead level greater than half of the applicable clearance level for the tested component; or any sampled paint that is found to be lead-based paint, then the lead hazard screen cannot be used to determine the extent of the lead-based paint hazard.

3. A lead hazard screen shall be conducted as follows:

a. background information regarding the physical characteristics of the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility and occupant use patterns that may cause lead-based paint exposure to one or more children, age 6 years and under, shall be collected;

b. a visual inspection of the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility shall be conducted to:

i. determine if any deteriorated paint is present; and

ii. locate at least two dust sampling locations;

c. if deteriorated paint is present, each surface with deteriorated paint that is determined, using documented methodologies, to be in poor condition and to have a distinct painting history shall be tested for the presence of lead;

d. in residential dwellings two composite dust samples shall be collected, one from the floors and the other from the windows, in rooms, hallways, or stairwells where one or more children, age 6 years and under, are most likely to come in contact with dust; and

e. in multi-family dwellings or child-occupied facilities, in addition to the floor and window samples, the risk assessor shall also collect composite dust samples from common areas where one or more children, age 6 years and under, are most likely to come into contact with dust.

4. Dust samples shall be collected and analyzed in the following manner:

a. all dust samples shall be taken using documented methodologies that incorporate adequate quality control procedures; and

b. all collected dust samples shall be analyzed by a recognized laboratory to determine the concentration of lead.

5. Paint shall be sampled in the following manner:

a. paint shall be analyzed to determine the presence of lead using documented methodologies that incorporate adequate quality control procedures; and/or

b. all collected paint chip samples shall be analyzed by a recognized laboratory to determine the concentration of lead.

6. The risk assessor shall prepare a lead hazard screen report, which shall include the following information:

a. the information required in a risk assessment report as specified in Paragraph D.11 of this Section. Additionally, any background information collected in accordance with Paragraph D.3 of this Section shall be included in the risk assessment report; and

b. recommendations, if warranted, for a follow-up risk assessment and, as appropriate, any further actions.

D. Risk Assessment

1. A risk assessment shall be conducted only by an accredited risk assessor and, if conducted, must be conducted according to the procedures in this Subsection.

2. A visual inspection for risk assessment of the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility shall be undertaken to locate the existence of deteriorated paint, assess the extent and causes of the deterioration, and determine other potential lead-based paint hazards.

3. Background information regarding the physical characteristics of the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility and occupant use patterns that may cause lead-based paint exposure to one or more children, age 6 years and under, shall be collected.

4. Each surface with deteriorated paint that is determined, using documented methodologies, to be in poor condition and to have a distinct painting history shall be tested for the presence of lead. Each other surface determined, using documented methodologies, to be a potential lead-based paint hazard and having a distinct painting history shall also be tested for the presence of lead.

5. In residential dwellings dust samples (either composite or single-surface samples) from the window and floor shall be collected and analyzed for lead concentrations in all living areas where one or more children, age 6 years and under, are most likely to come into contact with a dust-lead hazard.

6. For multi-family dwellings and child-occupied facilities, the samples required in Paragraph D.4 of this Section shall be taken. In addition, window and floor dust samples (either composite or single-surface samples) shall be collected in the following locations:

a. common areas adjacent to the sampled residential dwelling or child-occupied facility; and

b. other common areas in the building where the risk assessor determines that one or more children, age 6 years and under, are likely to come into contact with a dust-lead hazard.

7. For child-occupied facilities window and floor dust samples (either composite or single-surface samples) shall be collected and analyzed for lead concentrations in each room, hallway, or stairwell utilized by one or more children, age 6 years and under, and in other common areas in the child-occupied facility where the risk assessor determines one or more children, age 6 years and under, are likely to come into contact with a dust-lead hazard.

8. Soil samples shall be collected and analyzed for lead concentrations in the following locations:

a. exterior play areas and non-play areas where bare soil is present; and

b. dripline/foundation areas where bare soil is present.

9. Any paint, dust, or soil sampling or testing shall be conducted using documented methodologies that incorporate adequate quality control procedures.

10. Any collected paint chip, dust, or soil samples shall be analyzed by a recognized Louisiana Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (LELAP) laboratory accredited for the media and methods used to determine the concentration of lead. The program requirements are described in LAC 33:I.Subpart 3.

11. The accredited risk assessor shall prepare a risk assessment report that shall include the following information:

a. date of assessment;

b. address of each building;

c. date of construction of buildings;

d. apartment number (if applicable);

e. name, address, and telephone number of each owner of each building;

f. name, signature, and accreditation of the accredited risk assessor conducting the assessment;

g. name, address, and telephone number of the licensed contractor employing each accredited risk assessor, if applicable;

h. name, address, and telephone number of each recognized laboratory conducting analysis of collected samples;

i. results of the visual inspection;

j. testing method and sampling procedure employed for paint analysis;

k. specific locations of each painted component tested for the presence of lead;

l. all data collected from on-site testing, including quality control data and, if used, the serial number of any XRF device;

m. all results of laboratory analysis on collected paint, soil, and dust samples;

n. any other sampling results;

o. any background information collected in accordance with Paragraph D.3 of this Section;

p. to the extent that they are used as part of the lead-based paint hazard determination, results of any previous inspections or analyses for presence of lead-based paint or other assessments of lead-based paint-related hazards;

q. description of the location, type, and severity of identified lead-based paint hazards and any other potential lead hazards; and

r. description of interim controls and/or abatement options for each identified lead-based paint hazard and a suggested prioritization for addressing each hazard. If the use of an encapsulant or enclosure is recommended, the report shall recommend a maintenance and monitoring schedule for the encapsulant or enclosure.

E. Abatement

1. An abatement shall be conducted only by persons accredited by the department according to the procedures in this Section.

2. An accredited lead project supervisor must be present at all times for each abatement project, as described in the lead project notification.

3. The accredited lead project supervisor and the lead contractor employing that supervisor shall ensure that all abatement activities are conducted according to the requirements of this Section.

4. The lead contractor shall notify the Office of Environmental Services in writing of abatement activities.

a. Regular notification shall be made using a department-approved form and be postmarked or hand-delivered at least five working days prior to beginning any on-site work at the lead abatement project. The notification must be accompanied by the appropriate fees (LAC 33:III.223).

b. The project shall not start before the start date noted on the lead project notification (LPN) form, as defined in LAC 33:III.2803. The Office of Environmental Services shall be notified if the operation will stop for a day or more during the project time noted on the LPN or if the project has been canceled or postponed. The firm shall also give notice 24 hours before the completion of a project. Notice shall be submitted to the department with written follow-up and fax notification to the appropriate regional office.

c. A notification of less than five working days constitutes an emergency notification. For emergencies during normal working hours, the contractor shall provide notification either by fax or email to the Office of Environmental Services and the DEQ regional office responsible for inspecting the project site within 24 hours of the start of the project. After working hours, the contractor shall provide notification by fax, email, or voice mail to the Office of Environmental Services and the DEQ regional office responsible for inspecting the project site within 24 hours of the start of the project. The completed notification form shall be submitted within five working days and shall be accompanied by the appropriate processing fees (LAC 33:III.223).

d. An amended LPN shall be submitted to the department and appropriate regional office when changes occur in the completion dates, methodology, and square footage.

e. Failure to submit a complete and accurate notification or failure to submit appropriate fees will cause the notification to be rejected and constitutes a failure to notify.

5. A written occupant and worker protection plan shall be developed for all abatement projects and shall be prepared according to the following procedures:

a. the occupant protection plan shall be unique to each residential dwelling or child-occupied facility and be developed prior to the abatement. The occupant protection plan shall describe the measures and management procedures that will be taken during the abatement to protect the building occupants from exposure to any lead-based paint hazards;

b. the worker protection plan shall describe the measures taken to ensure worker protection that are consistent with OSHA (29 CFR 1926.62) and/or the state health officer requirements; and

c. an accredited lead project supervisor or project designer shall prepare the occupant and worker protection plans.

6. The work practices shall be restricted during an abatement as follows:

a. open-flame burning or torching of lead-based paint is prohibited;

b. machine sanding or grinding or dry abrasive blasting or sandblasting of lead-based paint is prohibited unless used with attached High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) vacuum-shrouded exhaust control, which removes particles of 0.3 microns or larger from the air at 99.97 percent or greater efficiency;

c. operating a heat gun on lead-based paint is permitted only at temperatures below 1100° F; and

d. dry scraping of lead-based paint is permitted only in conjunction with heat guns or adjacent to electrical outlets or when treating defective paint spots totaling no more than 2 square feet in any one room, hallway, or stairwell or totaling no more than 20 square feet on exterior surfaces.

7. For any exterior abatement of lead-based paint, pre-abatement composite soil samples following documented methodologies that incorporate adequate quality control procedures shall be taken by an accredited inspector or an accredited risk assessor next to the foundation or from the dripline below any exterior surface to be abated, unless this information is available from a current risk assessment. The samples shall be sent for analysis to a recognized laboratory capable of performing these analyses. When analysis results exceed 400 micrograms per gram and bare soil is present, the contractor will furnish a written copy of the analysis results to the owner/operator of the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility prior to abatement.

8. If conducted, soil abatement shall be conducted in one of the following ways.

a. If soil is removed, the lead-contaminated soil shall be replaced with soil that is not lead-contaminated. Any lead-contaminated soil that is removed shall not be used as top soil at another residential property or COF.

b. If soil is not removed, soil abatement shall be conducted in one of the following ways.

i. The lead-contaminated soil shall be permanently covered, as defined in LAC 33:III.2803.

ii. An interim control of a permeable barrier shall be applied and covered with 3 to 6 inches of clean top soil per EPA and The Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, as described in Paragraph F.1 of this Section.

9. The following post-abatement clearance procedures shall be performed only by an accredited inspector or an accredited risk assessor:

a. following an abatement, a visual inspection shall be performed to determine if deteriorated painted surfaces and/or visible amounts of dust, debris, or residue are still present. If deteriorated painted surfaces or visible amounts of dust, debris, or residue are present, these conditions must be eliminated prior to the continuation of the clearance procedures;

b. following the visual inspection and any required post-abatement cleanup, clearance sampling for lead-contaminated dust shall be conducted. Clearance sampling may be conducted by employing single-surface sampling or composite sampling techniques;

c. dust samples for clearance purposes shall be taken using documented methodologies that incorporate adequate quality control procedures;

d. dust samples for clearance purposes shall be taken a minimum of one hour after completion of final post-abatement cleanup activities;

e. the following post-abatement clearance activities shall be conducted based upon the extent of abatement activities conducted in or to the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility:

i. after conducting an abatement with containment between abated and unabated areas, one dust sample shall be taken from one window (if available) and one dust sample shall be taken from the floor of at least four rooms, hallways, or stairwells within the containment area. In addition, one dust sample shall be taken from the floor outside the containment area. If there are fewer than four rooms, hallways, or stairwells within the containment area, then all rooms, hallways, or stairwells shall be sampled;

ii. after conducting an abatement with no containment, two dust samples shall be taken from at least four rooms, hallways, or stairwells in the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility. One dust sample shall be taken from one window (if available) and one dust sample shall be taken from the floor of each room, hallway, or stairwell selected. If there are fewer than four rooms, hallways, or stairwells within the residential dwelling or child-occupied facility then all rooms, hallways, or stairwells shall be sampled;

iii. following an exterior paint abatement, a visible inspection and sampling shall be conducted as follows. All horizontal surfaces in the outdoor living area closest to the abated surface shall be found to be cleaned of visible dust and debris:

(a). a visual inspection shall be conducted to determine the presence of paint chips on the dripline or next to the foundation below any exterior surface abated. If paint chips are present they must be removed from the site and properly disposed of, according to all applicable federal and state requirements; and

(b). in addition, sampling shall consist of at least one sample taken from an adjacent exterior horizontal surface including, but not limited to, a patio, deck, porch, stoop, or common area and composite soil samples taken next to the foundation or from the dripline and any bare soil areas adjacent to the exterior abatement that children, age 6 years and under, frequent. When analysis results indicate that the post-abatement soil lead content exceeds the pre-abatement level, then the abatement contractor shall abate the soil according to Paragraph E.8 of this Section;

iv. following soil abatement, at least two composite soil samples shall be taken from the abated area according to documented methodologies. When analysis results indicate that the post-abatement soil lead content exceeds the pre-abatement level, then the abatement contractor shall abate the soil according to Paragraph E.8 of this Section;

f. the rooms, hallways, or stairwells selected for sampling shall be selected according to documented methodologies; and

g. the accredited inspector or the accredited risk assessor shall compare the residual lead level (as determined by the laboratory analysis) from each dust sample with applicable clearance levels for lead in dust on floors, carpets, and windows. If the residual lead levels in a dust sample are equal to or exceed the clearance levels, all the components represented by the failed sample shall be recleaned and retested until clearance levels are met. Until all applicable clearance levels for lead in dust are met, the area shall not be cleared for reoccupancy.

10. In a multi-family dwelling with similarly constructed and maintained residential dwellings, random sampling for the purposes of clearance may be conducted provided:

a. the accredited individuals who abate or clean the residential dwellings do not know which residential dwelling will be selected for the random sample;

b. a sufficient number of residential dwellings are selected for dust sampling to provide a 95 percent level of confidence that no more than 5 percent or 50 of the residential dwellings (whichever is smaller) in the randomly sampled population exceed the appropriate clearance levels; and

c. the randomly selected residential dwellings shall be sampled and evaluated for clearance according to the procedures found in Paragraph E.9 of this Section.

11. An abatement report shall be prepared by an accredited lead project supervisor or an accredited project designer and submitted to the department within 30 days of the completion of the project. The abatement report shall include the following information:

a. start and completion dates of the abatement;

b. the name and address of each licensed contractor conducting the abatement and the name of each supervisor assigned to the abatement project;

c. the occupant and worker protection plan;

d. the name, address, and signature of each accredited risk assessor or accredited inspector conducting clearance sampling and the date of clearance testing;

e. the results of clearance testing and all soil analyses (if applicable) and the name of each recognized laboratory that conducted the analyses;

f. a detailed written description of the abatement, including abatement methods used, locations of rooms and/or components where abatement occurred, reason for selecting particular abatement methods for each component, and any suggested monitoring of encapsulants or enclosures; and

g. information on the storage, transport, and disposal of any waste generated during the abatement.

12. All lead-contaminated waste and construction debris from abatement projects shall be disposed of in accordance with federal, state, and local requirements.

13. All modifications to residences or child-occupied facilities and to their component systems that may occur during the abatement shall be designed and performed in accordance with applicable state and municipal building codes.

F. Interim Controls

1. Interim controls, which require monitoring to maintain lead-safe conditions, may be used in lieu of abatement to manage lead hazards in paint, dust, and soil. Various types of interim controls are outlined in the HUD guidelines: The Evaluation and Control of Lead-based Paint in Public Housing; and EPA guidelines, (e.g. the Superfund Lead-Contaminated Residential Sites Handbook (August 2003)).

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § III-2811

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Air Quality and Radiation Protection, Air Quality Division, LR 23:1672 (December 1997), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 26:2459 (November 2000), repromulgated LR 27:39 (January 2001), amended LR 28:2338 (November 2002), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 31:2446 (October 2005), LR 33:644 (April 2007), LR 33:2092 (October 2007), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Division, LR 39:1467 (June 2013), Amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs and Criminal Investigations Division, LR 47875 (7/1/2021).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2054 and 2351 et seq.