|
Photo courtesy John Winters Thanks to The Boren Foundation, and Jack and Karen Kay Leonard for making this website possible. |
Dangerous Advice from Your Paint Retailer
Results of a survey by Improving Kids’ Environment conducted in February 2002 designed to find out what kind of advice Indianapolis paint stores provide customers regarding surface preparation and lead-based paint
Prepared by Tom Neltner and Alison Beumer on March 17, 2002
Store Type | Number of Stores | Dangerous and/or Illegal Work Practices Recommended by Retail Store Clerk3 | ||||||
# in Central Indiana | # Surveyed1 | # not Found2 | Painting Guide Brochure4 | Sand Semi-Gloss Surface | Sand Paint from Door | Missed Lead Hazard5 | Misunderstood Identified Lead Hazard6 | |
Ace Hardware | 6 | 3 | 0 | N/A | 0% | 0% | 100% | N/A |
Duron | 5 | 2 | 0 | N/A | 100% | 100% | 100% | N/A |
ICI Dulux | 4 | 4 | 0 | Yes | 100% | 50% | 50% | 100% |
Independents | 18 | 7 | 6 | N/A | 71% | 71% | 57% | 66% |
Lowes | 3 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 0% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
MAB | 8 | 7 | 0 | N/A | 43% | 86% | 57% | 100% |
Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 0 | Yes | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Porter | 10 | 7 | 0 | Yes | 71% | 71% | 71% | 100% |
Sherwin Williams | 12 | 9 | 0 | Yes | 67% | 78% | 89% | 0% |
Totals | 67 | 41 | 6 | | 63% | 71% | 71% | 91% |
Footnotes
1. Stores were selected because they served designated high-risk neighborhoods in Indianapolis, Indiana. These neighborhoods were designated as high-risk for lead poisoning by the Indiana State Department of Health because ISDH estimates that more than 20% of the children may be lead poisoned. Some additional stores were surveyed because there were convenient to the person conducting the survey.
2. The list of stores was developed in the Spring of 2000 by the Marion County Health Department based on listings in the Ameritech Yellow Pages. The survey was conducted in February 2002.
3. The dangerous work practices are those identified by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development at 24 CFR 35.1350(d). Use of these work practices by an employer without extensive precautions would most likely violate OSHA standards at 29 CFR 1926.62(d). In Indiana as of July 1, 2002, use of these dangerous work practices in homes or child-occupied facilities built before 1960 would be illegal except in limited circumstances such as a do-it-yourselfer with no guests or lead-poisoned children present or where an inspection by a licensed lead inspector certifies the paint is not lead-based paint.
4. Except as noted below, the brochures make did not mention of lead hazards and recommended dry sanding.
a. Pittsburgh Paints brochure #0-88625-13465-2 shows dry scraping in picture but states to “[b]e sure to use caution when working with existing coatings on the surface. Refer to the paint label for more information on safe preparation.”
b. Sherwin-Williams brochure #655-2848 directs the user to lightly sand glossy paint but puts in parenthesis that a liquid deglosser could be used.
5. A store was given credit for identifying the lead hazard issue if it mentioned lead-based paint or the age of the housing.
6. For those 12 stores that identified the lead hazard (see footnote 5 and previous column), a store was given credit if it either did not recommend dangerous/illegal work practices or it recommended that a test be done on paint to determine if it was lead.