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RWM Home > Programs > Lead Hazard Prevention > Background applicability of Chapter 424

Background applicability of Chapter 424

In 1997, Maine enacted an “Act to Ensure Safe Abatement of Lead Hazards”. This Act directed the State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection to adopt regulations establishing procedures and requirements for the certification and licensing of persons engaged in residential lead-based paint activities, work practice standards for performing such activities, the licensing of lead training providers and accreditation of lead training programs. These rules are called the Maine Lead Management Regulations (Chapter 424) ; they incorporate requirements from both State and federal lead laws.

Applicability

Currently, the Maine Lead Management Regulations apply only to work performed on residential buildings and child occupied facilities. Standards have not developed or adopted in regulation for commercial or industrial facilities, and steel structures such as bridges and water towers. Work at these facilities is regulated under the OSHA Lead Standard.

What is abatement, and when do the Maine Lead Management Regulations apply?

Abatement (often referred to as “deleading”, “lead paint removal”, or “lead hazard control or elimination”), is an activity in which the primary intent is to permanently eliminate lead hazards. Abatement may include any of the following: removal of lead-based paint, enclosure or encapsulation of lead-based paint, replacement of lead-painted surfaces or fixtures, and the removal or covering of lead-contaminated soil. A renovation or remodeling project in which the primary intent is to repair, restore, or remodel is not abatement, even if the project incidentally results in the reduction of lead hazards. Such renovation projects are not regulated under the Lead Management Regulations .

The Lead Management Regulations apply to those projects conducted in residential buildings and child-occupied facilities where the primary intent is abatement. Frequently, projects may include both abatement and renovation. In these situations, owner's expectations and or contract specifications must be clear as to what is abatement. A regulated activity, and what activities are not.

Common abatement projects include: abatement mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services in response to a case of childhood lead poisoning, abatement work funded by HUD lead hazard control grants, abatement performed to meet the lead-safe license requirement for a stand alone day care facility, and abatement as requested by a property owner to ensure the highest standard of lead-safe work. All of these projects require a Maine licensed lead abatement contractor employing only certified workers.