United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Prevention, Pesticides,
and Toxic Substances
(7404)
Solid Waste and EPA-747-F-98-007
Emergency Response December 1998
(5305W) www.epa.gov
FACT SHEET
PROPOSED RULE ON THE MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL OF
LEAD-BASED PAINT DEBRIS
What Is This Rule Proposing?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
proposing to suspend current hazardous waste
management requirements for disposal of lead-
based paint (LBP) debris and allow disposal of
LBP debris in construction and demolition
(C&D) landfills. EPA analysis found disposal in
C&D landfills to be safe (i.e., protective of
human health and the environment) and less
costly than disposal in other types of landfills.
What Is LBP Debris?
LBP debris is any component, fixture, or portion
of a residence or other building coated wholly or
partly with LBP. LBP debris can also be any solid
material coated wholly or partly with LBP
resulting from a demolition. Examples include
ceilings, crown molding, walls, chair rails, doors,
door trim, floors, fireplaces, shelves, and
radiators and other heating units.
Why Is This Rule Needed?
Lead exposure to children remains a concern in
the United States because children absorb lead
more readily than adults and their nervous
systems are particularly vulnerable to the effects
of lead poisoning. Common sources of lead
exposure include contaminated dust and paint
chips from deteriorated LBP in older homes and
activities that disturb LBP. It is estimated that
more than half of the housing stock in the United
States contains some LBP. Abatements,
renovations, and remodeling activities in homes
with LBP can generate large quantities of LBP
debris. This LBP debris can be costly to manage
and dispose of under current hazardous waste
management requirements.
To reduce costs and remove obstacles associated
with disposal of LBP debris, EPA is proposing
this rule to shift the regulations for management
and disposal of LBP debris from the Resource
Conservation and Reservation Act (RCRA) to a
tailored program under the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA). By allowing LBP debris to
be disposed of in a less-costly manner, the
Agency hopes the new TSCA standards will
hasten the pace with which LBP and LBP
hazards are removed from residences and public
and commercial buildings. EPA believes that the
disposal of LBP debris in C&D landfills is
protective of human health and the environment.
Who Is Affected By This Rule?
This rule covers persons and firms who renovate,
remodel, demolish, abate, or delead residences or
public and commercial buildings or transport LBP
debris. Examples include renovation or abatement
contractors and construction and demolition
professionals.
What If I Perform Work In My
Home?
If you perform work in your home, you can treat
and dispose of LBP debris as solid waste under
the household hazardous waste exclusion. In
other words, you are not subject to current
RCRA toxicity characteristic determinations and
disposal standards nor will you be subject to the
new proposed TSCA standards. Examples
include do-it-yourselfers who remodel or
renovate their homes.
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What Are The Proposed Disposal
Options For LBP Debris?
The new TSCA standards, if finalized, would
allow LBP debris to be disposed of in:
• A C&D landfill;
• A landfill receiving hazardous waste from
conditionally exempt small quantity generators
(CESQG) but not receiving municipal solid
waste;
• A hazardous waste disposal facility; or
• A RCRA hazardous waste incinerator.
The proposal would not allow the disposal of
LBP debris in municipal solid waste landfill
facilities (MSWLF) although the proposal asks
for comment on this. Based on currently available
data, the Agency believes that C&D landfills do
not leach lead as aggressively as landfills with
common garbage found in MSWLFs.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For general information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards, call the National Lead Information Center at
1-800-424-LEAD (5323).
The Federal Register notice and this fact sheet are available in electronic format on the Internet through the EPA Public
Access Server. The notice is available at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr. This fact sheet and other documents related to this rule
are available at www.epa.gov/lead. For additional information or to order paper copies of any documents, call the National
Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323). You may also obtain information by calling the RCRA Hotline:
callers within the Washington Metropolitan Area must dial 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-3323 (hearing impaired).
Long-distance callers may call 1-800-424-9346 or TDD 1-800-553-7672. The RCRA Hotline operates weekdays, 9:00 a.m.
to 6:00 p.m. Write to the RCRA Information Center (5305W), US EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Submit written comments, in triplicate, by mail to: TSCA Public Docket Office, (7407), docket number OPPTS-62160, Office
of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW, Rm G099, East Tower, Washington,
DC 20460. The public must send an original and two copies. Each comment must bear the docket control number OPPTS-
62160.
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: oppt.ncic@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic comments must be
submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be
accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file format. All comments and data in electronic form must be identified
by the docket control number OPPTS-62160. Electronic comments on this proposed rule may be filed online at many Federal
Depository Libraries. No confidential business information (CBI) should be submitted through e-mail.
All comments, which contain information claimed as CBI, must be clearly marked as such. Three copies, sanitized of any
comments containing information claimed as CBI, must also be submitted and will be placed in the public record for this
rulemaking. Persons submitting information, any portion of which they believe is entitled to treatment as CBI by EPA, must
assert a business confidentiality claim in accordance with 40 CFR 2.203(b) for each such portion. This claim must be made
at the time that the information is submitted to EPA. If a submitter does not assert a confidentiality claim at the time of
submission, EPA will consider this as a waiver of any confidentiality claim and the information may be made available to the
public by EPA without further notice to the submitter.
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