Collapse to view only § 4851. Findings
§ 4851. Findings
The Congress finds that—
(1) low-level lead poisoning is widespread among American children, afflicting as many as 3,000,000 children under age 6, with minority and low-income communities disproportionately affected;
(2) at low levels, lead poisoning in children causes intelligence quotient deficiencies, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention span, hyperactivity, and behavior problems;
(3) pre-1980 American housing stock contains more than 3,000,000 tons of lead in the form of lead-based paint, with the vast majority of homes built before 1950 containing substantial amounts of lead-based paint;
(4) the ingestion of household dust containing lead from deteriorating or abraded lead-based paint is the most common cause of lead poisoning in children;
(5) the health and development of children living in as many as 3,800,000 American homes is endangered by chipping or peeling lead paint, or excessive amounts of lead-contaminated dust in their homes;
(6) the danger posed by lead-based paint hazards can be reduced by abating lead-based paint or by taking interim measures to prevent paint deterioration and limit children’s exposure to lead dust and chips;
(7) despite the enactment of laws in the early 1970’s requiring the Federal Government to eliminate as far as practicable lead-based paint hazards in federally owned, assisted, and insured housing, the Federal response to this national crisis remains severely limited; and
(8) the Federal Government must take a leadership role in building the infrastructure—including an informed public, State and local delivery systems, certified inspectors, contractors, and laboratories, trained workers, and available financing and insurance—necessary to ensure that the national goal of eliminating lead-based paint hazards in housing can be achieved as expeditiously as possible.
(Pub. L. 102–550, title X, § 1002, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3897.)
§ 4851a. Purposes
The purposes of this chapter are—
(1) to develop a national strategy to build the infrastructure necessary to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in all housing as expeditiously as possible;
(2) to reorient the national approach to the presence of lead-based paint in housing to implement, on a priority basis, a broad program to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards in the Nation’s housing stock;
(3) to encourage effective action to prevent childhood lead poisoning by establishing a workable framework for lead-based paint hazard evaluation and reduction and by ending the current confusion over reasonable standards of care;
(4) to ensure that the existence of lead-based paint hazards is taken into account in the development of Government housing policies and in the sale, rental, and renovation of homes and apartments;
(5) to mobilize national resources expeditiously, through a partnership among all levels of government and the private sector, to develop the most promising, cost-effective methods for evaluating and reducing lead-based paint hazards;
(6) to reduce the threat of childhood lead poisoning in housing owned, assisted, or transferred by the Federal Government; and
(7) to educate the public concerning the hazards and sources of lead-based paint poisoning and steps to reduce and eliminate such hazards.
(Pub. L. 102–550, title X, § 1003, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3897.)
§ 4851b. DefinitionsFor the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) AbatementThe term “abatement” means any set of measures designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint hazards in accordance with standards established by appropriate Federal agencies. Such term includes—
(A) the removal of lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust, the permanent containment or encapsulation of lead-based paint, the replacement of lead-painted surfaces or fixtures, and the removal or covering of lead contaminated soil; and
(B) all preparation, cleanup, disposal, and postabatement clearance testing activities associated with such measures.
(2) Accessible surface
(3) Certified contractorThe term “certified contractor” means—
(A) a contractor, inspector, or supervisor who has completed a training program certified by the appropriate Federal agency and has met any other requirements for certification or licensure established by such agency or who has been certified by any State through a program which has been found by such Federal agency to be at least as rigorous as the Federal certification program; and
(B) workers or designers who have fully met training requirements established by the appropriate Federal agency.
(4) Contract for the purchase and sale of residential real property
(5) Deteriorated paint
(6) Evaluation
(7) Federally assisted housingThe term “federally assisted housing” means residential dwellings receiving project-based assistance under programs including—
(A) section 1715l(d)(3) or 1715z–1 of title 12;
(B) section 1 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965;
(C)section 1437f of this title; or
(D) sections 1472(a), 1474, 1484, 1485, 1486 and 1490m of this title.
(8) Federally owned housing
(9) Federally supported work
(10) Friction surface
(11) Impact surface
(12) Inspection
(13) Interim controls
(14) Lead-based paint
(15) Lead-based paint hazard
(16) Lead-contaminated dust
(17) Lead-contaminated soil
(18) Mortgage loanThe term “mortgage loan” includes any loan (other than temporary financing such as a construction loan) that—
(A) is secured by a first lien on any interest in residential real property; and
(B) either—
(i) is insured, guaranteed, made, or assisted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Farmers Home Administration, or by any other agency of the Federal Government; or
(ii) is intended to be sold by each originating mortgage institution to any federally chartered secondary mortgage market institution.
(19) Originating mortgage institution
(20) Priority housing
(21) Public housing
(22) Reduction
(23) Residential dwellingThe term “residential dwelling” means—
(A) a single-family dwelling, including attached structures such as porches and stoops; or
(B) a single-family dwelling unit in a structure that contains more than 1 separate residential dwelling unit, and in which each such unit is used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, in whole or in part, as the home or residence of 1 or more persons.
(24) Residential real property
(25) Risk assessmentThe term “risk assessment” means an on-site investigation to determine and report the existence, nature, severity and location of lead-based paint hazards in residential dwellings, including—
(A) information gathering regarding the age and history of the housing and occupancy by children under age 6;
(B) visual inspection;
(C) limited wipe sampling or other environmental sampling techniques;
(D) other activity as may be appropriate; and
(E) provision of a report explaining the results of the investigation.
(26) Secretary
(27) Target housing
(Pub. L. 102–550, title X, § 1004, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3898; Pub. L. 115–31, div. K, title II, § 237(b), May 5, 2017, 131 Stat. 789.)