The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are partnering in a joint outreach pilot program related to the roll-out of EPA’s landmark new lead renovation regulation, known as the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule. This joint effort involves the display of an informative, double-sided tear-off sheet that describes the steps to take in order to work in a lead-safe manner.
“Lead poisoning can have a devastating impact on health, but it’s completely preventable, “ said DDOE Director George S. Hawkins. “Prevention will be much easier if we can reach our constituents where they buy supplies to renovate their homes.”
The tear-off sheets are available in both English and Spanish. One side of the sheet includes a checklist of recommended basic tools, such as a mop, plastic sheeting, disposable cleaning cloths and personal protection items. These tools and equipment are renovation items available in most hardware stores. The other side of the sheet contains useful tips on how to set up a lead-safe work area, how to minimize the generation of lead dust, and how to clean up the work area and safely dispose of the debris and work materials.
DDOE recruited 13 District hardware and paint stores to participate in the program. They have agreed to display the tear-off sheets in their stores for their customers to tear-off and use while shopping and to take home. This three-month pilot program is slated to begin in mid-April, 2009. Based on the results of the program, EPA will decide whether to turn this into a national outreach effort, and what changes might be useful to make in order to increase the program’s effectiveness. The following stores have agreed to participate in this effort:
Brookland True Value Hardware (12th St. NE)
Fifth Street Ace Hardware (1055 5th St. NW)
Frager’s Hardware (1115 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
Glover Park Hardware ( 2251 Wisconsin Ave. NW)
Home Depot (901 Rhode Island Ave. NE)
Logan Hardware (1416 P St. NW)
McCormick Paints (1460 P St. NW)
Monarch Paint & Wallcovering (504 K St. NW)
Monarch Paint & Wallcovering (2130 Wisconsin Ave. NW)
Monarch Paint & Wallcovering (5608 Connecticut Ave. NW)
Pfeiffer Hardware (3219 Mount Pleasant St. NW)
Tenleytown Ace Hardware (4500 Wisconsin Ave. NW)
True Value Hardware (1623 17th St. NW)