Cleaning equipment after sanding lead paint

[TinyShop]

I recently took the EPA RRP lead paint course the main point was containment of any dust thay may contain lead and cleaning work area afterwards.  Generally as homeowner you would be exempt from the requirements (certain states impose other requirements) but if you wanted to follow there's a ton of info on the EPA website.  Suggest keeping them indoors and not using a fan to blow any dust that escapes the HEPA extractor.  Rather put plastic sheeting down in work area including sealing off any doors or vents, etc.  You want to contain the dust in a small area not spread it around.  Sanding with HEPA vac is permitted.  Removing with heat or open grinding is not.  Chemical stripping would be permitted so long as you contain and dispose (properly) of all the fluids and residue.  Tyvek suit, respirators and all of the plastic sheeting gets disposed of in heavy plastic bag tied off with a "gooseneck" and residual air extracted with HEPA vac.  The class suggested nothing containing loose dust leaves work area; most everything was cleaned with the vac (including exterior surfaces of vac).  The dust bag would also be disposed of in manner above.  There was no mention of actually cleaning interior of hoses and vac but if you did any fluids would also have to be contained and disposed of properly.  Hope this helps.

They're allowing dry sanding with a HEPA vac now? My most recent refresher was three years ago and, at that time, it was still a big no-no to dry sand even with a HEPA vac. Good to know.

 

[mrFinpgh]

I recently took the EPA RRP lead paint course the main point was containment of any dust thay may contain lead and cleaning work area afterwards.  Generally as homeowner you would be exempt from the requirements (certain states impose other requirements) but if you wanted to follow there's a ton of info on the EPA website.  Suggest keeping them indoors and not using a fan to blow any dust that escapes the HEPA extractor.  Rather put plastic sheeting down in work area including sealing off any doors or vents, etc.  You want to contain the dust in a small area not spread it around.  Sanding with HEPA vac is permitted.  Removing with heat or open grinding is not.  Chemical stripping would be permitted so long as you contain and dispose (properly) of all the fluids and residue.  Tyvek suit, respirators and all of the plastic sheeting gets disposed of in heavy plastic bag tied off with a "gooseneck" and residual air extracted with HEPA vac.  The class suggested nothing containing loose dust leaves work area; most everything was cleaned with the vac (including exterior surfaces of vac).  The dust bag would also be disposed of in manner above.  There was no mention of actually cleaning interior of hoses and vac but if you did any fluids would also have to be contained and disposed of properly.  Hope this helps.

The fluid thing is interesting -- one of the recommendations for exteriors is to wash the exterior first, placing landscape fabric at the foundation to catch any chips.  But obviously, landscape fabric isn't filtering at the level of a hepa filter. Presumably, power washing is causing some lead dust to come off and it can migrate into the soil.  At the same time, when you use chemical strippers, you need to contain any neutralizing or rinse water and dispose of it properly.

Interesting about the dry sanding..  I thought that was a no-no.  Any mention on dry scraping w/ something like the proscraper or viper scraper?  Seems like that's probably the fastest means to getting loose stuff off if you aren't doing a full restoration.

I've also noticed most of the RRP literature focuses on cleaning the vacuum and transferring the contents in the right order, but not so much on whether or not to consider the vacuum 'hot' once used for lead work.

 

[cgrutt]

Not sure about dry scraping I'll see of it is in my book when I get home tonight.  I do know that per EPA Q&A document landscape fabric is never a substitute for plastic so not sure about the washing building part.  I'll get post source for that tonight.

 

[cgrutt]

Just following up on this checked my rrp book there is no mention on requirements to clean inside of HEPA vac or hoses etc.  On EPA website there is document with frequently asked questions closest thing is reusing components ... response is vague at best something along the lines of if it is presumed to contain lead dust must transport and store in manner to minimize chance of not containing it... so I guess bagging the vac before removal from site would be acceptable approach.

As far as use of landscape fabric during exterior powerwashing... 

Question (23002-15754)
During exterior power washing, instead of plastic, can landscaping fabric or a similar material be used to
capture any paint chips or other debris, but permit the water to seep through?
Answer
No. Landscaping fabric is not an impermeable material.

Prohibited practices...  open flame burning or torching, heat gun above 1100 degrees F and "power sanding, power grinding, power planing, needle guns, abrasive blasting or sandblasting WITHOUT shroud or containment system equipped with HEPA vacuum".  Doesn't specifically mention power scraping.

Hope this helps.