Renovating or Painting a Home or School Containing Lead Paint

Renovating, repairing or painting a home, child care facility or school containing lead-based paint

Starting in April 2010, federal law will require that contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disrupt lead based paint in houses, child care facilities, and schools built prior 1978 must be certified and follow certain work practices to reduce lead contamination.

Read about EPA’s requirements for renovation, repair and painting.

Until that time, EPA suggests those performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disrupt lead based paint in child care facilities and schools built before 1978, follow lead safe work procedures. The contractor should follow these 3 easy procedures:

• Seal off the work area
• Keep dust to a minimum
• Thoroughly clean up

You will need Adobe Reader to open some of the files on this page. See EPA’s PDF page to learn more.

To learn more about renovation:

• Visit EPA’s renovation, repair and painting web page
• Read the EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (79 pp, 847K)
• Read the fact sheet on renovation | en español
• Read EPA pamphlets on remodeling, repair and painting:
  • Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools (PDF) (20 pp, 3.7MB)
  • Contractors: Lead Safety During Renovation (PDF) (2 pp, 1.5MB) HTML version