I attended the Certified Lead Renovator Initial Training Course yesterday. I attended this course with intentions of getting my FIRM Certified to continue on working for the clients I have. During this class the question was brought up several different ways referring to the same thing. If I don't disturb the paint in any way why is it that I need this certification? The trainer simply stated that anyone firm that has contractors working under them that will be disturbing the paint in a pre-1978 home need this certification. In order for a firm to get the certification you need to go through the class which is 240.00 and to get your firm certified you send your certification along with 300.00 to NC EPA.
The firm can be certified and train other contractors as long as the one manager whom attended the renovation course has to be there before,during and after to inspect proper pocedures are being taken to complete this task according to EPA standards. This manager can leave the site as long as the contractors working are trained and signed off on their training which forms are available through the course for your contractors. This manager must be able to be contacted via phone throughout the day at all times while work is in progress.
I took/passed the 8 hours class this week here in CA.
We were told that CA is the only state that test swabs can NOT be used to determine if lead based paint is NOT present. If they test positive for lead, you can use the results. If it doesn't test positive, you still need to hire a 3rd party certified testing company to verify that absence of lead based paint.
You may want to verify with the EPA so you pass along clear information to your CA crews.