U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said two home renovation companies are required to pay civil penalties for Toxic Substances Control Act violations.
Superior Restoration and Construction of Overland Park, Kan., has been ordered to pay $44,680 while Askins Development Group of St. Louis, Mo., has been ordered to pay $42,003, according to a Jan. 10 EPA news release.
"Lead is a pernicious contaminant that is particularly harmful to children, and renovation companies that violate lead-based paint regulations must be held accountable," EPA Region 7 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director David Cozad said in the release. "EPA will vigorously pursue recalcitrant violators who refuse to resolve noncompliance in a cooperative way."
Both companies failed to comply with federal regulations requiring reductions in lead-based paint exposure hazards during renovations, according to the news release.
"Both companies also failed to respond to multiple attempts by EPA to engage in discussions to resolve the violations, including failure to answer administrative complaints issued by EPA," the news release said.
EPA Regional Judicial Officer Karina Borromeo subsequently found both companies liable by default for multiple violations. Those alleged violations included failures to obtain EPA renovator certification and to assign a certified renovator before performing renovations on housing built before 1978. Both companies were also found to have violated multiple work practice requirements, according to the release.
Those alleged violations could have resulted in exposure to hazardous lead dust, the release reported.
Lead-contaminated dust from chipped or peeling lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes has long been known to cause elevated blood lead levels in infants and children, according to the release. Children and infants are more vulnerable than adults because their growing bodies absorb more lead and are more sensitive to the damaging effects of that exposure.
"Reducing childhood lead exposure and the associated health impacts is a top priority for EPA," the news release said.
