Lead Removal
Serving Grand Junction, Western CO, and Eastern UT
Although lead paint was banned in 1978, exposure to lead paint is still the most common cause of lead poisoning among children in the U.S. If your home predates that year, it's likely that your residence has lead-based paint. If your home was built prior to 1950, it’s even more likely that your residence contains lead-based paint.
Our Lead Removal Process
Our lead paint removal process involves the following steps:
Risk Assessment
Determining the location, age, and amount of lead paint in a residence. The longer lead paint has been in a home, the greater the likelihood for flaking and contamination.
Elimination
We identify exposure areas, then remove harmful areas using the highest industry standards. In addition to removing problem areas, we enact safeguards to make sure no problems arise in the future.
Renovation (RRP)
Renovation activities are generally defined as any work performed in a pre-1978 residential property where lead-based paint may be disturbed because of that era of work. The intent is to perform a renovation of the home or business, or routine repair, maintenance or painting work.
Renovations involving activities designed to update, maintain, or modify all or part of a building, are covered by the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule if the lead-based paint does, in fact, show up during Risk Assessment.
Clearance
Encompass Environmental also performs additional clearance testing, conducted by our professionals. This means that before any containment or equipment controls are removed, we test to double-check that lead is now within an acceptable range. If so, then equipment is removed, and a final lead clearance testing report is issued.
Lead: There is No Safe Level of Exposure
As with asbestos, there is no safe or acceptable level of lead exposure. Even minor exposure can result in health problems. While children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, lead exposure can affect people of all ages.
Even if you work or live where no children are present, lead paint should be removed to ensure everyone’s safety. Even normal weathering of lead paints on exterior surfaces contributes to lead contamination of soil, water, and air.
Lead Facts
Here are several facts to help you understand what lead is and is not:
Lead is a naturally occurring metal
It is a soft heavy metal that is silvery blue, and turns dull gray when exposed to air. Pencil lead is not lead, but is actually graphite.
Lead interferes with enzymes in our body
This results in muscle aches, joint pain, stomach pain, constipation, etc. With enough exposure, lead can lead to anemia, damage the brain and kidneys, and can even result in death.