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EPA settles with Student Works Painting, Inc., for failure to comply with lead-based paint regulations at a home in Boise, ID

Release Date: 11/13/2014
Contact Information: Mark MacIntyre/EPA Public Affairs/206-553-7302/macintyre.mark@epa.gov

(Seattle – Nov. 13, 2014) College Works Painting, a California-based painting company (d.b.a. Student Works Painting, Inc.), has agreed to settle alleged violations of federal lead-based paint regulations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The settlement - which includes a $39,532 penalty - covers actions that occurred at a property in Boise, ID, in October, 2011.

According to EPA case documents, Student Works Painting failed to follow lead-safe work practices and establish and maintain adequate records for renovation activities on a Boise residential property built before 1978. These practices are required under EPA’s national Repair, Renovation and Painting (RRP) rule, which is aimed at preventing the ingestion or inhalation of lead-based paint chips or dust. The violations were documented during an inspection at the home, following a local tip.

“If repairs or remodeling are done carelessly in older homes, it could result in lead contamination, which in turn could pose a serious health hazard to young children,” said Kate Kelly, Director of EPA’s office of Air, Waste & Toxics in Seattle. “Research has shown that as many as one million children in America are needlessly exposed to lead, resulting in elevated blood lead levels, which have been shown to harm both physical and mental development. Our lead-based paint regulations help safeguard children from this unnecessary exposure risk.”

This is not the first time College Works Painting, the parent company, has failed to comply. In 2011, the company also paid a $32,508 penalty for other lead-based paint rule violations.

EPA's Lead-based Paint regulations require that firms performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities and pre-schools built before 1978:

· Have their firm certified by EPA (or an EPA authorized state)
· Use certified renovators who are trained by EPA-approved training providers, and
· Follow lead-safe work practices.