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Photo courtesy John Winters Thanks to The Boren Foundation, and Jack and Karen Kay Leonard for making this website possible. |
Can You Trust Your Paint and Hardware Store?
A Toolkit to Check Your Local Stores for
Advice and Supplies on Health Hazards
Basics of Store Visits
The volunteer visits the store as a customer. The volunteer does not identify himself or herself; ask permission to shop at the store; or announce the purpose of the visit. The goal is for the volunteer to be just like a normal shopper. IKE encourages the volunteer to buy supplies at the store as needed. The volunteer should write down what the clerks says and the name of clerks providing advice. It is usually easiest to write down the notes on a blank sheet of paper instead of using a form to avoid raising suspicion.
Visit the Paint Department and Ask for Help
The volunteer should go to the paint department and ask the clerk for assistance regarding paint. The scenario can vary but the most typical situation is that the volunteer lives in an old house. The paint on the wood door to the kids’ room is flaking off. The paint is brittle. The volunteer wants to repaint the door so it looks good.
This scenario contains all of the clues that the clerk should need to recognize the potential for lead-based paint.
§ A house built before 1978 may have lead-based paint in it. One built before 1950 is likely to have lead-based paint.
§ The flaking paint is not latex paint because it is brittle. Latex paint is usually rubbery not brittle or hard. Latex paint should not be lead-based paint.
§ Children may be present since the door is to the kids’ room. While adults can be lead poisoned, children are more susceptible, especially children younger than six years of age.
It is important for the volunteer to be consistent in the scenario to better compare stores. Volunteers can use variations such as saying that paint is on an old-fashioned wood window or on kitchen cabinets or that the room is being converted to a nursery. Windows and cabinets commonly have lead-based paint. Converting a room to a nursery is a sign that a child will live there.
IKE’s experience is that the clerk will recommend dry sanding or dry scraping of the lead-based paint. This practice generates lead dust. The lead dust often cannot be at the levels that can hurt children and once made is very difficult to completely cleanup. If levels are over 40 microgram of lead dust per square foot (:g/ft2) or one gram per 25,000 square feet on the floor, the levels exceed EPA’s lead dust levels at 40 CFR 765.61.
In addition, an Indiana contractor or landlord who is dry sanding, dry scraping, or burning paint inside residential property built before 1960 commits a Class D felony unless a licensed lead inspector or risk assessor confirms in writing that the paint is not lead-based paint. The law applies to homeowners if a guest is present or lead-poisoned child lives there. See IC 13-17-14 or 326 IAC 23-5-1. HUD also prohibits these dangerous work practices on projects it funds. See 24 CFR 35.140.
IKE believes the best answer is for the clerk to:
1. 
Give customer a copy of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” Pamphlet (EPA Pamphlet). The National Paint and Coatings Association offers this pamphlet to the stores in English and Spanish.
2. Show customer a display copy of the “Lead Paint Safety Field Guide for Painting, Home Maintenance, and Renovation Work” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD Field Guide) provides thorough guidance on lead-safe work practices with excellent graphics.
3. The clerk may also recommend the following methods to remove the paint consistent with the HUD Field Guide.
a. Avoid sanding by filling in gaps with filler such as putty and use a deglosser so the new paint will stick to the old paint; or
b. 
Use a chemical stripper to remove the paint making sure the area is well ventilated;
c. Hiring a professional who is trained on lead-safe work practices to do the work. See www.leadlisting.org/ to find a local professional.
d. Wet sand or scrape the loose paint and carefully cleanup; or
e. Use a heat gun making sure not to char the paint.
4. The clerk should also recommend:
a. Work Outside if possible;
b. Keep people, especially kids, away from the work area;
c. Place thick plastic on the floor and over furnishing to catch dust and debris;
d. Considering use of special encapsulating paint designed to seal lead-based paint;
e. Use shoe booties, or tacky paper or means be used stop the spread of dust;
f. Wash walls with water to remove dust;
g. Vacuum dust and debris on horizontal surfaces with a vacuum equipped with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter; and
h. Test area dust wipes that are sent to a lab for analysis.
If Sanding or Scraping is Suggested . . .
If the clerk suggests sanding, scraping or burning the paint, the volunteer should ask the clerk what paint should be used to cover the wood. The clerk will take the volunteer to the paint aisle and show the volunteer a can of paint – often a primer. The paint should have words on the lid that say “WARNING! If you scrape, sand, or remove old paint, you may release lead dust. LEAP IS TOXIC. Contact the National Lead Information Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD or log on to www.epa.gov/lead. READ LABEL FOR ADDITIONAL WARNING INFORMATION.”
The volunteer should read the warning label and ask the clerk if sanding or scraping is still a good idea. Many clerks ignore the warning and stick to their original advice. The volunteer should write down what the clerk says and report it to IKE.
Check lead-safe work practice supplies.
If it does not come up through the discussion with the clerk, the volunteer should look for the useful supplies in the store. This is only essential for the items in italics.
§ Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” Pamphlet (EPA Pamphlet). See previous page for image of cover.
§ “Lead Paint Safety Field Guide for Painting, Home Maintenance, and Renovation Work” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD Field Guide) provides thorough guidance on lead-safe work practices with excellent graphics. See previous page for image of cover.
§ LeadCheck® swabs. These swabs are the most common home test kit for lead paint on the market. After activating the swab, the consumer can rub the swab on a surface to determine whether lead may be present in paint, dust or other material. The swab turns red if it detects lead. Their relatively low cost and immediate results makes them convenient and popular for consumers and contractors. However, the EPA Pamphlet warns that “consumers should not rely on these tests before doing renovations or to assure safety.” Since the swabs only indicate that lead is detected, they are not conclusive. If the swabs turn red, EPA encourages contractors, owners, or occupants to use lead-safe work practices or have a lead inspection, risk assessment or clearance examination done by a licensed lead professional.
§ Vacuum with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. Look for the HEPA label and make sure the store sells spare filters.
§ Plastic that is six millimeters thick
§ Shoe coverings or plastic that is tacky on both side so it can remove lead dust from shoes.
§ Duct tape to connect plastic sheets together
§ Masking tape to attach the plastic sheets to wall.
§ Mist bottles to keep old paint wet and prevent making dust.
§ e “Lead Paint Safety Field Guide for Painting, Home Maintenance, and Renovation Work” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD Field Guide) provides thorough guidance on lead-safe work practices.
Visit the Pesticide Department and Ask for Help
The volunteer should go to the pesticide department and ask the clerk for assistance regarding cockroaches. The scenario can vary but the most typical situation is that the volunteer lives in an old house and has seen some cockroaches when suddenly turning on the light in the kitchen. The volunteer asks how to get rid of the disgusting creatures.
The clerk should not recommend the use of any spray or fogger. Sprays or foggers spread the pesticide in the air residents breathe and usually leave a residue that children can eat as they play on the floor. In addition, foggers and sprays are not particularly effective since they have only a short-term impact on cockroach populations. Finally, sprays do not penetrate most places where cockroaches are found.
The clerk should not recommend any product that does not specifically say it is designed for kill cockroaches. Pesticides can only be legally used in a manner that follows the product label or directions. Sometimes the clerks will improperly recommend pesticides meant for grubs, weeds or ants.
IKE believes that the best methods are gels that are injected into cracks where cockroaches are found or manufactured enclosed baits placed near cockroach infestations. Boric acid is also acceptable when it is applied in places out of reach of children since it has a low toxicity.
Special Rule in Indiana
Indiana has a special regulation for retail stores that provide advice regarding the selection and use of pesticides. The Indiana Registered Pesticide Consultant Rule - 357 IAC 1-9 - requires retail establishments that provide advice on the selection and use of pesticides to:
1. Have a pesticide consultant for each location registered with the Office of the Indiana State Chemist.
2. Post a notice in an area that employees will see stating that pesticide selection and use advice may be provided only by employees that have completed the required pesticide consultant employee training.
3. Post a sign in the public area to notify the pesticide customer of the customer’s ultimate responsibility to read and follow the directions on the pesticide label.
Therefore, any retail hardware store with clerks providing advice regarding the selection and use of a pesticide must have a sign posted reminding the customer that the customer is ultimately responsible for reading and following the directions on the pesticide label.
Where signs were not posted, retail hardware stores are not allowed to give pesticide selection and use advice.
In small stores, the volunteer may want to buy some of the recommended items such as sandpaper or cockroach baits to avoid raising suspicion.