All News Releases By Date

 

Former Renton, WA Landlords cited for serious violations of Federal Lead Rules

Release Date: 05/02/2006
Contact Information: Javier Morales, (206) 553-1255, morales.javier@epa.gov Tony Brown, (206) 553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

Tenants not informed of lead paint hazards; residents included young children

( Renton, WA. - May 2, 2006) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a complaint against former Renton landlords Stanley Xu and Longwell Company, alleging they failed to notify their tenants that lead-based paint could pose serious health threats to children or pregnant women. Longwell Company managed the Sunset Vista Apartments located at 10406 SE 174th in Renton, WA. Each violation carries a maximum penalty of $11,000.

EPA’s complaint alleges the named parties committed 60 violations of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 and Disclosure Rule for violations including:

• failure to provide tenants with a Lead Warning Statement disclosing the health hazards associated with lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards;
• failure to notify the tenants of either the presence of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards or a lack of knowledge of such presence;
• failure to provide any records or reports to the tenants regarding lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards or a statement that no such records exist;
• failure to provide signatures of the landlord and tenants certifying to the accuracy of their statements along with the dates of signature; and
• failure to provide their tenants with the EPA-approved lead information pamphlet entitled Protect your Family from Lead in Your Home and a statement affirming receipt of the EPA-approved lead information pamphlet.

“Lead poisoning in children from deteriorating paint is especially tragic because it can be avoided,” said Rick Albright, Director, Air, Waste & Toxics, EPA Region 10 Seattle. “Landlords, owners and property management companies must take seriously their obligations to inform parents how to protect their children from the hazards associated with the lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards.”

The Sunset Vista Apartments are considered by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be "target housing" - which includes most dwellings built prior to the 1978 Consumer Products Safety Commission ban on the manufacture and sale of lead-based paint. The federal lead-based paint and/or lead-based hazards Disclosure Rule requires sellers, owners and lessors, including property management firms, of pre-1978 rental housing to provide disclosures and other information to tenants prior to entering into a lease to enable the tenants to make informed decisions about protecting their children and themselves from lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards.

Lead is a highly toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around our homes. Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and under are most at risk, because their bodies are growing quickly.

---

Related Links:

Lead Information (epa.gov/lead/)
Pre-Renovation Lead Information Rule (epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadrenf.htm)
Residential Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Program (epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadbase.htm)

---

Subscribe to receive Region 10 News Releases via email