
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC2685]

 
                      TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
 
                  CHAPTER 53--TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL
 
                 SUBCHAPTER IV--LEAD EXPOSURE REDUCTION
 
Sec. 2685. Lead abatement and measurement


(a) Program to promote lead exposure abatement

    The Administrator, in cooperation with other appropriate Federal 
departments and agencies, shall conduct a comprehensive program to 
promote safe, effective, and affordable monitoring, detection, and 
abatement of lead-based paint and other lead exposure hazards.

(b) Standards for environmental sampling laboratories

    (1) The Administrator shall establish protocols, criteria, and 
minimum performance standards for laboratory analysis of lead in paint 
films, soil, and dust. Within 2 years after October 28, 1992, the 
Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, shall establish a program to certify laboratories as qualified 
to test substances for lead content unless the Administrator determines, 
by the date specified in this paragraph, that effective voluntary 
accreditation programs are in place and operating on a nationwide basis 
at the time of such determination. To be certified under such program, a 
laboratory shall, at a minimum, demonstrate an ability to test 
substances accurately for lead content.
    (2) Not later than 24 months after October 28, 1992, and annually 
thereafter, the Administrator shall publish and make available to the 
public a list of certified or accredited environmental sampling 
laboratories.
    (3) If the Administrator determines under paragraph (1) that 
effective voluntary accreditation programs are in place for 
environmental sampling laboratories, the Administrator shall review the 
performance and effectiveness of such programs within 3 years after such 
determination. If, upon such review, the Administrator determines that 
the voluntary accreditation programs are not effective in assuring the 
quality and consistency of laboratory analyses, the Administrator shall, 
not more than 12 months thereafter, establish a certification program 
that meets the requirements of paragraph (1).

(c) Exposure studies

    (1) The Secretary of Health and Human Services (hereafter in this 
subsection referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control,\1\ (CDC), and the Director 
of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, shall 
jointly conduct a study of the sources of lead exposure in children who 
have elevated blood lead levels (or other indicators of elevated lead 
body burden), as defined by the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control.
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    \1\ So in original. The comma probably should not appear.
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    (2) The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, shall conduct a 
comprehensive study of means to reduce hazardous occupational lead 
abatement exposures. This study shall include, at a minimum, each of the 
following--
        (A) Surveillance and intervention capability in the States to 
    identify and prevent hazardous exposures to lead abatement workers.
        (B) Demonstration of lead abatement control methods and devices 
    and work practices to identify and prevent hazardous lead exposures 
    in the workplace.
        (C) Evaluation, in consultation with the National Institute of 
    Environmental Health Sciences, of health effects of low and high 
    levels of occupational lead exposures on reproductive, neurological, 
    renal, and cardiovascular health.
        (D) Identification of high risk occupational settings to which 
    prevention activities and resources should be targeted.
        (E) A study assessing the potential exposures and risks from 
    lead to janitorial and custodial workers.

    (3) The studies described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall, as 
appropriate, examine the relative contributions to elevated lead body 
burden from each of the following:
        (A) Drinking water.
        (B) Food.
        (C) Lead-based paint and dust from lead-based paint.
        (D) Exterior sources such as ambient air and lead in soil.
        (E) Occupational exposures, and other exposures that the 
    Secretary determines to be appropriate.

    (4) Not later than 30 months after October 28, 1992, the Secretary 
shall submit a report to the Congress concerning the studies described 
in paragraphs (1) and (2).

(d) Public education

    (1) The Administrator, in conjunction with the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, and in conjunction with the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development, shall sponsor public education and 
outreach activities to increase public awareness of--
        (A) the scope and severity of lead poisoning from household 
    sources;
        (B) potential exposure to sources of lead in schools and 
    childhood day care centers;
        (C) the implications of exposures for men and women, 
    particularly those of childbearing age;
        (D) the need for careful, quality, abatement and management 
    actions;
        (E) the need for universal screening of children;
        (F) other components of a lead poisoning prevention program;
        (G) the health consequences of lead exposure resulting from 
    lead-based paint hazards;
        (H) risk assessment and inspection methods for lead-based paint 
    hazards; and
        (I) measures to reduce the risk of lead exposure from lead-based 
    paint.

    (2) The activities described in paragraph (1) shall be designed to 
provide educational services and information to--
        (A) health professionals;
        (B) the general public, with emphasis on parents of young 
    children;
        (C) homeowners, landlords, and tenants;
        (D) consumers of home improvement products;
        (E) the residential real estate industry; and
        (F) the home renovation industry.

    (3) In implementing the activities described in paragraph (1), the 
Administrator shall assure coordination with the President's Commission 
on Environmental Quality's education and awareness campaign on lead 
poisoning.
    (4) The Administrator, in consultation with the Chairman of the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, shall develop information to be 
distributed by retailers of home improvement products to provide 
consumers with practical information related to the hazards of 
renovation and remodeling where lead-based paint may be present.

(e) Technical assistance

                          (1) Clearinghouse

        Not later than 6 months after October 28, 1992, the 
    Administrator shall establish, in consultation with the Secretary of 
    Housing and Urban Development and the Director of the Centers for 
    Disease Control, a National Clearinghouse on Childhood Lead 
    Poisoning (hereinafter in this section referred to as 
    ``Clearinghouse''). The Clearinghouse shall--
            (A) collect, evaluate, and disseminate current information 
        on the assessment and reduction of lead-based paint hazards, 
        adverse health effects, sources of exposure, detection and risk 
        assessment methods, environmental hazards abatement, and clean-
        up standards;
            (B) maintain a rapid-alert system to inform certified lead-
        based paint activities contractors of significant developments 
        in research related to lead-based paint hazards; and
            (C) perform any other duty that the Administrator determines 
        necessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter.

                             (2) Hotline

        Not later than 6 months after October 28, 1992, the 
    Administrator, in cooperation with other Federal agencies and with 
    State and local governments, shall establish a single lead-based 
    paint hazard hotline to provide the public with answers to questions 
    about lead poisoning prevention and referrals to the Clearinghouse 
    for technical information.

(f) Products for lead-based paint activities

    Not later than 30 months after October 28, 1992, the President 
shall, after notice and opportunity for comment, establish by rule 
appropriate criteria, testing protocols, and performance characteristics 
as are necessary to ensure, to the greatest extent possible and 
consistent with the purposes and policy of this subchapter, that lead-
based paint hazard evaluation and reduction products introduced into 
commerce after a period specified in the rule are effective for the 
intended use described by the manufacturer. The rule shall identify the 
types or classes of products that are subject to such rule. The 
President, in implementation of the rule, shall, to the maximum extent 
possible, utilize independent testing laboratories, as appropriate, and 
consult with such entities and others in developing the rules. The 
President may delegate the authorities under this subsection to the 
Environmental Protection Agency or the Secretary of Commerce or such 
other appropriate agency.

(Pub. L. 94-469, title IV, Sec. 405, as added Pub. L. 102-550, title X, 
Sec. 1021(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3917.)
