Roommate Substitution Agreement Template (Page 6 of 7) in pdf

There is a danger of lead poisoning any time painted surfaces inside or outside the home

are scraped for repainting, or woodwork is stripped or removed, or windows or walls are

removed. This is because lead paint is found in almost all Massachusetts homes built

before 1978, and so many of Massachusetts’ homes are old. Special care must be taken

whenever home repair work is done. No one should use power sanders, open flame torches,

or heat guns to remove lead paint, since these methods create a lot of lead dust and

fumes. Ask the owner of your home if a lead inspection has been done. The inspection

report will tell you which surfaces have lead paint and need extra care in setting up for

repair work, doing the repairs, and cleaning up afterwards. Temporarily move your family

(especially children and pregnant women) out of the home while home repair work is being

done and cleaned up. If this is not possible, tape up plastic sheets to ompletely seal

off the area where the work is going on. No one should do repair work in older homes

without learning about safe ways to do the work to reduce the danger of lead dust.

Hundreds of cases of childhood and adult lead poisoning happen each year from home repair

work.

What can you do to prevent lead poisoning?

· Talk to your child’s doctor about lead.

· Have your child tested for lead at least once a year until he/she is four years old.

· Ask the owner if your home has been deleaded or call the state Childhood Lead

Poisoning Prevention

Program (CLPPP) at 1-800-532-9571, or your local Board of Health.

· Tell the owner if you have a new baby, or if a new child under six years old lives

with you.

· If your home was deleaded, but has peeling paint, tell and write the owner. If he/she

does not respond, call CLPPP or your local Board of Health.

· Make sure only safe methods are used to paint or make repairs to your home, and to

clean up afterwards.

· If your home has not been deleaded, you can do some things to temporarily reduce the

chances of your child becoming lead poisoned. You can clean your home regularly with

paper towels and any household detergent and warm water to wipe up dust and loose paint

chips. Rub hard to get rid of more lead. When you are done, put the dirty paper towels in

a plastic bag and throw them out. The areas to clean most often are window wells, sills,

and floors. Wash your child’s hands often (especially before eating or sleeping) and wash

your child’s toys, bottles and pacifiers often. Make sure your child eats foods with lots

of calcium and iron, and avoid foods and snacks that are high in fat. If you think your

soil may have lead in it, have it tested. Use a door mat to help prevent dirt from

getting into your home. Cover bare leaded dirt by planting grass or bushes, and use mats,

bark mulch or other ground covers under swings and slides. Plant gardens away from old

homes, or in pots using new soil. Remember, the only way to permanently lower the risk of

your child getting lead poisoned is to have your home deleaded if it contains lead paint.

How do you find out where lead paint hazards may be in a home?

The only way to know for sure is to have a lead inspection or risk assessment done. The

lead inspector will test the surfaces of your home and give the landlord and you a

written report that tells you where there is lead in amounts that are a hazard by state

law. For interim control, a temporary way to have your home made safe from lead hazards,

a risk assessor does a lead inspection plus a risk assessment. During a risk assessment,

the home is checked for the most serious lead hazards, which must be fixed right away.

The risk assessor would give the landlord and you a written report of the areas with too

much lead and the serious lead hazards. Lead inspectors and risk assessors have been

trained, licensed by the Department of Public Health, and have experience using the

state-approved methods for testing for lead paint. These methods are use of a sodium

sulfide solution, a portable x-ray fluorescence machine or lab tests of paint samples.

You can get a list of licensed lead inspectors and risk assessors from CLPPP.

In Massachusetts, what must the owner of a home built before 1978 do if a child under six

years old lives there?

An owner of a home in Massachusetts built before 1978 must have the home inspected for

lead if a child under six years old lives there. If lead hazards are found, the home must

be deleaded or brought under interim control. Only a licensed deleader may do high-risk

deleading work, such as removing lead paint or repairing chipping and peeling lead

paint.You can get a list of licensed deleaders from the state Department of Labor and

Workforce Development. Deleaders are trained to use safe methods to prepare to work, do

the deleading, and clean up. Either a deleader, the owner or someone who works for the

Roommate Substitution Agreement Template Page 6

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