Painting Company Fined for Failure to Notify Customers about Lead Hazards in New England

News Release

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
August 28, 2012

Contact: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Painting Company Fined for Failure to Notify Customers about Lead Hazards in New England

(Boston, Mass. – Aug. 28, 2012) – A national house painting company with offices in Woburn, Mass., has agreed to pay a $7,200 penalty and to spend $65,000 on an environmental project at a school in Cambridge to settle claims by the US Environmental Protection Agency that it failed to provide required lead hazard information to home owners in four New England states on 41 occasions.

According to a settlement filed recently, College Pro Painters failed to provide EPA’s lead hazard information pamphlet to at least 41 owners and adult occupants of pre-1978 housing before beginning painting projects at units in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. This was in violation of the federal Pre-Renovation Rule, and the Toxic Substances Control Act. 

In addition to paying the penalty, College Pro will spend $65,000 to replace or restore 79 windows that likely contain lead paint at Congregation Eitz Chayim (Harvard Hillel Children’s School) on Magazine Street in Cambridge, Mass.

College Pro, an interior and exterior house painting company based in Maryland, had more than 300 franchisees operating in 27 states as of 2009.  All of the work at issue in this case was performed by College Pro employees or contractors, not by franchisees.

The Pre-Renovation Rule aims to educate owners or occupants on how to minimize their exposure to hazardous lead dust that is often generated during painting projects conducted in older homes. The Rule requires that companies notify owners or occupants before starting work in homes built before 1978 that disturbs more than six square feet of interior or 20 square feet of exterior painted surface and that they provide them with an EPA-approved pamphlet with information about lead paint hazards and necessary precautions. Exposure to lead is particularly harmful to children under six years old and to pregnant women.

In June 2006, EPA’s New England office sent letters explaining the Pre-Renovation Rule to more than 600 painting companies, contractors, and remodeling firms in New England, including College Pro. In 2007, EPA began inspecting several of those entities who had received these letters.

This case stems from an Oct. 2009 inspection of College Pro’s New England offices in Woburn. EPA’s inspection and follow up information gathering showed that College Pro failed to provide the EPA lead information pamphlet to the owners or occupants (or mail the pamphlet to the owners during the time limits required) on at least 41 occasions - 28 in 2008 and 13 in 2009.

The lead abatement project in Cambridge must be completed within 150 days of the agreement.

More information: Pre-Renovation Lead Information Rule (http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadrenf.htm)

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Spokane concrete and asphalt manufacturer fails to disclose use of chemicals

Press release:

Spokane concrete and asphalt manufacturer fails to disclose use of chemicals

Contact Info: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454, kader.hanady@epa.gov
Graham Kirn, EPA Toxics Release Inventory Program, 206-553-1603, kirn.graham@epa.gov

(Seattle—Aug. 23, 2012) CPM Development Corporation, a concrete and asphalt manufacturing facility, failed to report toxic chemical use at its Spokane, Washington facility under federal community right-to-know laws, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company has submitted the missing reports outlining chemical use and disposal at its facility, and will pay a fine.

“Companies have a responsibility to nearby communities to be transparent about the chemicals they use,” said Kim Ogle, Manager of the Inspection and Enforcement Management Unit in EPA’s Seattle office. “Many chemicals, such as lead, are especially harmful to children.”

EPA found that the company failed to report on time for its processing of lead compounds and nitrate compounds in 2010. During that year, the company processed more than 100 pounds of lead compounds and more than 25,000 pounds of nitrate compounds, the threshold amounts that trigger reporting requirements under the federal Toxics Release Inventory program.

Lead is a persistent, toxic chemical that can accumulate in our bodies and is especially harmful to young children. Nitrates can cause dangerous blood conditions, low blood pressure and are particularly harmful to pregnant women and children.

Under the federal Toxics Release Inventory Program, companies that use certain toxic chemicals are required to report annually about releases, transfers and waste management of those chemicals at their facilities. The TRI program is under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which aims to inform communities and citizens of chemical hazards in their neighborhoods.

The company has agreed to pay a $25,400 penalty.

For more information on the Toxics Release Inventory, visit: http://www.epa.gov/tri/

Washington landlord cited for failing to notify tenants of lead paint

Washington landlord cited for failing to notify tenants of lead paint

Contact: Kim Farnham, EPA LBP Compliance Officer, 206-553-6697, farnham.kim@epa.gov
Jeff Philip, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1465, philip.jeff@epa.gov

(Seattle – May 15, 2012) Robert Kerr of Everett, Washington will pay a penalty for alleged violations of the federal Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr. Kerr leases properties located in Bellingham, Washington. From 2008-2010, Mr. Kerr leased 26 residential units numerous times and failed to notify tenants about the presence of lead paint and lead-based paint hazards, as required by the Disclosure Rule. Mr. Kerr will pay a $21,800 penalty.

“People have the right to know about lead hazards prior to renting or buying a place to live,” said Rick Albright, Director of EPA’s Office of Air, Waste and Toxics in Seattle. “Sellers, landlords and property managers who do not properly notify the people who will live in these homes can face stiff penalties.”

The Disclosure Rule requires landlords, property management companies, real estate agencies, and sellers to inform potential lessees and purchasers of the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 housing. They must also provide the purchaser or lessee with a copy of the Lead Hazard Information Pamphlet, “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” before entering into any lease or sales agreement, and keep records showing they have met the federal requirements.

Lead from paint, dust, and soil can be dangerous if not managed properly. Lead exposure can harm young children, babies and developing fetuses. People can get lead in their bodies by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead.

EPA Region 7 Issues Notice of Violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc., of Muscatine, Iowa, for Clean Air Act Issues

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

EPA Region 7 Issues Notice of Violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc., of Muscatine, Iowa, for Clean Air Act Issues

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 27, 2012) - EPA has issued a notice of violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc. (GPC), alleging the company has violated the Iowa State Implementation Plan and the federal Clean Air Act for issues related to construction and operating permits issued for its facility at Muscatine, Iowa.

EPA Region 7 has coordinated with the State of Iowa on the notice of violation, which is separate from a civil lawsuit filed December 1, 2011, by the Iowa attorney general, which alleges that GPC's facility violated the state's air pollution laws.

GPC’s plant at 1600 Oregon Street in Muscatine processes corn into ethanol, corn sweeteners and beverage alcohol.

EPA’s notice of violation to GPC specifically alleges that between 2007 and 2011, its facility repeatedly violated limits on air emissions opacity that were set forth in the company’s 1995 amended construction permit and 2003 operating permit. The notice further alleges GPC failed to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources of the opacity exceedances, and failed to address the exceedances in its annual compliance certifications for the years 2007 through 2011.

EPA’s notice to GPC does not address penalties, but indicates the Agency will consider additional enforcement action, which could include penalties, to ensure the facility complies with applicable laws and regulations. The notice can be viewed online at www.epa.gov/region7/newsevents/legal.

The notice was accompanied by an official request for information, which seeks details of GPC’s compliance with the Facility Response Plan requirements and Spill Prevention and Countermeasures Control requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. Information provided by the company in response to EPA’s request will be used by the Agency in evaluating GPC’s compliance. GPC’s response to EPA’s information request is due within 15 days.

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