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Lead
Accreditation & Certification
Program
Overview
California
Department of Health Services -- Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch
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How
did the Lead Accreditation & Certification Program begin?
California's lead
accreditation and certification program began in June, 1994. At that
time, new childhood lead poisoning prevention legislation (Title
17, California Code of Regulations, Section 35001 et seq.) required
the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to create a program
to certify lead-related construction trades-people and accredit lead-related
construction training providers. Final regulations establishing this
program took effect April 5, 1995. Revisions to these regulations
that established work practice standards for lead-related construction
and amended the previously established accreditation and certification
requirements went into effect in March, 1998.
What
kind of work do the regulations apply to?
The Title 17 regulations
governing accreditation and certification apply to lead-related construction
work done in residential and public buildings. Some examples of public
buildings include schools, day-care centers, museums, airports, hospitals,
stores, convention centers, government facilities and office buildings.
Lead-related construction
work is defined as...
..."any alteration,
painting, demolition, salvage, renovation, repair or maintenance, including
preparation and cleanup, that, by using or disturbing lead-containing material
or soil, may result in significant exposure of adults or children to lead."
In the future, DHS will
expand its program to govern lead-related construction work done on industrial
buildings and steel structures.
These regulations apply
only to the lead-related construction industry. They do not
apply to the general lead industry, such as battery manufacturers
and radiator repair shops, etc.
What
is accreditation?
Accreditation means
that a training provider meets regulatory requirements and has been approved
by DHS to offer lead-related construction courses. To be accredited,
training providers must have qualified instructors and adequate training
facilities. Their courses must provide information about the health
effects of lead poisoning, sources of lead, as well as how to identify
and reduce lead hazards. Accredited training providers may be approved
to offer training in:
-
Inspection/Assessment
-
Supervision &
Project Monitoring
-
Project Design
-
Work
-
Continuing Education
Do
training providers have to be accredited?
Yes. Training
providers must be accredited if they wish to offer courses leading to State
certification. Training offered by non-accredited providers is not
valid training for certification.
What
is certification?
Certification means
that DHS has evaluated and approved a person's qualifications to perform
lead-related construction work in residential and public buildings.
DHS evaluates applicants to make sure they have completed State-approved
training and have relevant experience and education to perform lead work.
DHS grants five kinds of certificates:
-
Lead Inspector/Assessor
-
Lead Project Monitor
-
Lead Project Designer
-
Lead Supervisor
-
Lead Worker
Each certificate has different
training, education, and experience requirements.
Certificates are granted to individual people, not to companies or businesses.
Starting in September 1998, candidates for full lead Inspector/Assessor,
Supervisor, Project Monitor and Project Designer certification must also
pass a certification exam.
Certificates are granted
to individual people, not to companies or businesses. They are non-transferable
and must be renewed annually. Certified individuals must complete
seven hours of State-approved continuing education to renew their certificates
The fee for each certificate
or renewal requested is $75. All fees are non-refundable. There
are no fee waivers.
Certification takes from 30 to 90 days to complete, although
delays may occur if an applicant submits an incomplete application.
Is
certification required?
There are currently
many situations which required lead-related construction professionals
to be certified. For more information on this, see Is
Certification Required for the Work I Do?
-
State law
requires certification for anyone doing lead hazard evaluations (inspections),
lead clearance testing, lead abatement project design or lead abatement
work, in residential and public buildings in California.
-
State law
requires certification for workers conducting lead abatement activities
in public elementary and pre-schools or public daycare centers.
-
California
OSHA regulations require training and certification for lead-related
construction workers and supervisors who are exposed to airborne lead at
or above the 8-hour permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 µg/m3.
-
The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires certification
for those conducting pilot lead abatement projects.
-
Lead inspections that
are done to comply with the federal real estate disclosure rules must be
done by State certified inspector/assessors.
Why
are some certificates called "interim"?
In the past, no certification exams were available in
California for certification candidates to take. DHS issued "interim"
lead certificates until the certification exams were ready. As California's
certification exams become available, all lead-related construction professionals
who have interim certificates must pass the required exams in order to
obtain their full lead certification.
Does
California recognize certificates or training from other states?
No, lead-related construction
certificates from other states are not valid in California. Likewise,
only lead-related construction training taken from one of California's
accredited training providers can lead to certification in California.
Some of California's accredited training providers offer training outside
California. This training is valid for certification in California.
Do
other states recognize California's training and certificates?
Yes, many states that
do not have their own accreditation and certification programs will recognize
training and certificates from California. Check with your
state for their policy on this question.
Is
California's Program the same as the U.S. EPA model program?
No, the EPA
Model Accreditation & Certification Program, finalized in August
1996, is somewhat different from California's. Based on EPA's final
model, California has revised parts of its program, although significant
differences remain. California's program is now, and will always
be, as protective as EPA's model. DHS anticipates that the EPA will
approve California's program during the next year. When this happens,
there should be no change for individuals holding California's certificates
or training providers whom California has accredited.
How
can I contact the Accreditation & Certification program?
Department of Health
Services
Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention Branch
Lead-Related Construction
Unit
1515 Clay St. Suite 1801
Oakland, CA 94709
Lead-Related Construction
Information Line
1-800-597-LEAD (1-800-597-5323)
Outside California
(510) 869-3953