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According to the State of Massachusetts, Lead Paint
poisoning is the #1 preventable health epidemic in America. Lead is a mineral so it is absorbed like iron
and calcium, the body stores minerals in the bones. Talk to Boston Children’s hospital if you need
remediation. Problems of note are developmental delays, irreversible brain
damage, and IEP for life. The state is cracking down on lead paint because the costs
in schools is prohibitive. An IEP in
school costs $14, 000 each year, over $200,000 during a child's school
career. The best remediation to return
IEP money to the state pocketbooks, is to put this health problem in the hands
of the homeowners, remove the burden for the state, thus a crack down on
compliance for environments for children under 6. Further, lead paint was warrantied for 40 years by paint
companies. The state of MA is
anticipating further deterioration of
paint, the warranty period is reached, and as paint gets old it turns to dust.
The average house is over 100 years old in MA, 71% housing
stock in Massachusetts was built before 1978.
The Lead Law in MA requires the removal or covering of lead paint hazards in homes built before 1978 where any children under six live. Lead paint hazards include loose lead paint and lead paint surfaces defined as accessible to children. Lead Laws were updated in MA Dec 1st 2017. 1)
New childhood poisoning standards. The test formerly considered poisoning over
25MG, effective Dec 1. 2017, it is formally lowered to 10, with a NEW category
of 5-10, for concern.
2)
If a child test over 10 it will trigger required
mandatory inspections, clinical follow-up for children and families, and
crackdown with landlord violations and lead compliance.
Owners are responsible with complying with the law. This includes owners of rental property as well as owners living in their own single family home. Financial help is available through tax credits, grants and loans. For more information:
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Sellers/Homeowners, you need your ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE to prove compliance! Check your files! Inspectors that are getting recertified (CE credits) are
being told that any lead inspections prior to 2003 need to be re-inspected or
updated. They will do a walk through
inspection and charge 1/2 price if there is a previous Certificate or report in
hand. If they don’t have a previous
CERTIFICATE in hand (it can be recorded compliant in the lead safe database,
this does not qualify as documentation) inspectors can order a Post Compliance
Assessment Determination (PCAD) but will charge full price. This didn’t work out for my last client, the seller didn’t have a copy of the certificate, inspector was retired, moved to Florida, and had no archived records. The state database does not keep a copy. Seller is out of luck, buyer must retest to certify compliance. Bad news, the house didn’t pass this time. Keep your certificate. My understanding is that new, with 2017 regulations, they will be retesting anyway, since paint ages, and the property compliance might change a few years later.
This is the route: To get a copy of an inspection report or Letter of Compliance for a property, contact the inspector who did the inspection or issued the Letter of Compliance. To find an inspector’s phone number, click on the lead safe home database link below, to see who was listed as your inspector.
You can look up the inspection history of a property by entering a street name or street name and number. This database will indicate whether a property has ever been inspected for lead, has had any lead hazards, or has a letter of compliance.
Lead Safe Home Database If you believe it is inaccurate, there has been a lead inspection, please call the State at 1-800-532-9571 to better assist you. If you call, remember you are calling the state of Massachusetts. Put on your patience hat. 🙂
This is the 10 page property transfer document that you will be asked to sign, when you buy or sell a property in MA.
Lead in water is rare, it would come from old fixtures and
lead solder, typically if water sits at night the lead leaches into the water.
Boston treats the water so there is a barrier to lead pipes.
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Massachusetts and National Lead Safe Lead Safe World ____________________________________________________________________________________
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