Will the increased costs of remodeling, due to the EPA RRP Lead Rule, lead to lower real estate values for homes with lead?

I was watching a movie the other day with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. In this comedy Mel Gibson tries on women's accessories to see if he can capture the essence of being a woman to help with ideas for an add campaign. Later in the movie he is hit by lightning and wakes up with the power to hear the thoughts of women. His new power makes him all so powerful with the opposite gender. As the movie progresses he becomes over whelmed with thousands of womens voices penetrating his brain driving him crazy. He soon longs for the days when he was normal.

In a recent EPA RRP Training class at morning break, I witnessed something I hadn't seen all year. We had just completed module 1 and 2 of the Certified Renovator class. I went outside to get some fresh air and return a phone call. After my call, a contractor standing near by was speaking passionately on the phone. He was speaking to his wife about what he had just learned about the effects of lead poisoning on children and how it can be brought home on clothing. He voice was full of concern as he asked his wife to call their pediatrician right away to schedule a blood lead test for his two children.

Since January, we have held over 80 EPA RRP training for contractors. I have kept a journal of real life stories from contractors who have personal experiences with lead poisoning. I am going to share some of these real life stories over the coming months. My hope is that you will be able to relate with real life stories from residential contractors dealing with lead poisoning.

There are few resources available today for contractors seeking factual information about the EPA RRP Lead Rule. One can go to the EPA or states websites and scour through all the documents and still not find what they were looking for. Many have shared with us they are more confused after taking a such a stroll. Some rely on the internet and trade organizations only to find that there are many conflicting view points and opinions.

On 10/20/2010 our RRP Contractor Workshop team will be joined by OSHA expert Darcy Cook, President of Safety Trainers. The new Massachusetts Lead RRP Law requires contractors to be compliant with the OSHA Lead Standard. This includes respiratory programs, fit testing, medical monitoring and worker protection programs. Darcy will be working with The Contractor Coaching Partnership to help Massachusetts contractors with OSHA/RRP compliance.

Five months have passed since the EPA RRP Lead Law went into effect on April 22nd, 2010. To date almost 500,000 contractors have been trained to become Certified Renovators. The 6/18/2010 extension has come and ended.

The June 18th EPA RRP Enforcement  extension date came to a close on Thursday, 9/30/2010. As you may recall, the EPA determined in June, that it was necessary to allow contractors, property owners and maintenance workers more time to obtain RRP training and certification. Reasons given were lack of accredited trainers, awareness and available classes. The extension called for the EPA to forgo enforcement of the firm certification until 9/30/2010. In addition, the extension stated that contractors must prove that they have signed up for RRP training by 9/30/2010 and that training must be completed on or before 12/31/2010.

A few months ago I met Frank Dusek in Southampton, New York at our EPA RRP Certified Renovator training. After the training he told me he is going to use his RRP training to differentiate himself from other contractors on Long Island. Frank called me several times for guidance on how to approach an exterior renovation job. The soffit and fascia were rotted. The trim was up high over a lower roof. The dormers protruded from the mansard slope covered with slate.

While at the Mass DOS/OSHA Workshop at UMass we were told about the enforcement efforts currently underway in Mass. DOS is going out into the field and catching contractors not following the RRP Lead Rule. OSHA inpsectors are instructed to stop by any job they see with violations.