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Lead-Safe Wisconsin

Child on Swing Lead exposure in young children can cause reduced IQ and attention span, learning disabilities, developmental delays, and a range of other health and behavioral effects. Most exposures occur in homes or daycares built before 1978 from chipping and peeling lead-based paint and the lead-tainted dust it creates or where lead hazards have been created through renovation done without using lead-safe work practices.

Prevention of lead poisoning can be accomplished by eliminating lead-based paint hazards before children are exposed. Wisconsin's goal is to eliminate this disease by making Wisconsin's housing lead-safe, and by improving the detection and treatment of lead poisoning in children.

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  • CDC Accepts Advisory Committee Recommendation to Replace “Level of Concern” for Lead Poisoning with New Reference Value. What does this mean?

    • On May 16, 2012, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concurs with the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention that a blood lead level (BLL) of 5 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) or greater be considered high because it is higher than 97.5% of children in the US. The value of 5mcg/dL is down from the previously-considered high BLL of 10 mcg/dL. The recommendation was based on a growing number of scientific studies showing that even low blood lead levels can cause lifelong health effects. The change will increase the number of Wisconsin children considered to have high BLLs, from just over 1,000 children to more than 10,000 children.

    • Families can prevent lead exposure by keeping homes “lead-safe,” that is keeping the home free of lead paint hazards. Agencies can help eliminate lead poisoning by targeting resources to high-risk families and communities and enforcing new EPA regulations requiring the use of lead-safe work practices during home renovation and repairs (see below).

Wisconsin's Lead-Safe Renovation Rule. Under this rule, lead-safe renovator certification and company certification is required. Learn more about the rule, including downloadable fact sheets, guidance documents and a list of training providers of the Lead-Safe Renovator course.


CONTRACTOR 

CORNER

 Your lead-safe renovation questions answered here! Contractors; rental property owners, property managers and maintenance personnel; school administrators and maintenance personnel; daycare providers, hospital administrators and maintenance personnel; homeowners and do-it-yourselfers; and anyone else interested in additional information on the Renovation Rule.

Asbestos-Containing Window Glazing and Caulk Policy for Lead Contractors and Lead-Safe Renovators. (PDF, 29 KB) The Department of Health Services, Asbestos and Lead Section, has issued Administrative Memorandum PB 11-02, effective immediately, to approve comparable compliance under asbestos rule, s. DHS 159.03 (1), Wis. Adm. Code. This code allows certified lead abatement supervisors, lead abatement workers and lead-safe renovators to work on or remove windows or window sashes that contain non-friable glazing or caulk without also carrying separate asbestos abatement certification.

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Last Revised:  May 17, 2012