HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSPECTIONS
This service is provided for public and Indian housing agencies or when an elevated blood lead level has been found in a child or pregnant woman. MEC follows the inspection criteria in the 1995 "Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing," revised Chapter 7 (1997), as well as the federal requirements, including 24 CFR Part 35 et.al, for federally-funded programs.
MEC uses the Niton7 XL X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrum Analyzer for analyzing paint samples. The studies of the XRF units conducted by HUD and EPA are used as guidance documents while collecting and evaluating data collected by the XRF unit. The staff members assigned to the inspection are licensed and certified lead risk assessors trained and certified for the instrument.
The risk assessor initially meets with the housing manager to obtain a history of the housing units to be inspected. Information obtained during the interview can help the inspector develop a sampling strategy based on the age of the building, building products introduced into the building over the life of the building, scheduling times to minimize disruption to normal building activities, and ranking areas of concern.
The risk assessor decides whether soil samples should be collected from the property. If so, samples will be collected following the HUD guidelines, or state or local government requirements (whichever is most stringent).
The risk assessor evaluates the surfaces for damage, seeks causes for deteriorated surfaces, documents the extent of damage, the potential for further disturbance, and estimates surface areas containing lead-based paint.
MEC generates a final report including diagrams of sample locations and locations of surfaces containing lead-based paint.