News Release Distributed 08/20/14
BATON ROUGE, La. – As part of its Healthy Homes educational initiative, the LSU AgCenter LaHouse Resource Center in Baton Rouge will host a daylong Lead Certified Renovator Training course on Sept. 16 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Along with the primary goal of preventing lead poisoning, LaHouse seeks to aid contractors in fulfilling EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) requirements, said Claudette Reichel, AgCenter extension housing specialist.
The RRP Rule requires firms and contractors who disturb paint in pre-1978 homes and child-occupied facilities to be certified by EPA and to follow specific lead-safe work practices. These work practices greatly decrease the risk of lead contamination caused by common home renovation, repair and painting activities.
Even very low levels of lead in children can cause irreversible damage to developing brains and other organs. It can lead to learning and behavior disorders, impaired hearing, and other development health effects without clear symptoms of lead poisoning.
Course registration includes the course book, hands-on activities and certification test. Individuals who complete the course and pass the certification test will receive official EPA certificates from EnviroEd, a national EPA-accredited training provider. The classes, taught by LaHouse instructors, also qualify for eight CEUs for Louisiana Residential Contractors.
For more information or to register, click here or contact Reichel at 225-578-7913.
Olivia McClure