Meeting with the National Association of Home Builders

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Location: U.S. EPA - 1201 Constitution Avenue, Room 4353CC

In July, 2006 the National Association for Home Builders (NAHB)
contacted EPA to discuss the interim results of their Renovation and
Repair (R&R) Study, and ask for information on EPA’s Dust Containment
Study.   On August 29, 2006, at 11:00AM NAHB met with EPA to discuss the
studies.    The meeting attendees were Gary Suskauer, Therese Crahan,
and AJ Holliday from NAHB, and Maria Doa, Mike Wilson, Jackie Mosby,
Samuel Brown, and John Schwemberger from EPA.  

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss NAHB’s R & R Study, and for
EPA to share currently available information on EPA’s R&R Dust Study. 


EPA informed NAHB that we would be taking notes from the meeting and the
notes would be included in the docket since EPA is currently in the
proposed rulemaking process for the Renovation, Repair, and Painting
Program.  

AJ Holiday, legal counsel for NAHB said because EPA would be docketing
the meeting, there were aspects of their study that they would not be
able to share since their study is currently draft, and had not been
peer reviewed. 

Gary Suskauer of NAHB provided information on their study, and said it
was designed to better understand typical renovation and remodeling
activities being done by workers.   Their study modeled R&R activities
using routine work practices, using modified lead safe work practices,
documented lead safe work practices, and evaluated the amount of time it
took to complete an R& R activity.   They also looked at whether R&R
activities create lead hazards, whether levels of lead dust go in the
air, and if the different work practices matter in controlling lead
hazards.    

NAHB began their study in January, 2006 in three cities, at five
different sites.  The cities were Hartford, CT, Milwaukee, WI, and
Chicago, IL, and the study was conducted in Jan, April, and May 2006,
and was done in unoccupied structures on the interior only.  

NAHB sent the results from their study to their peer reviewers, and as
soon the peer review is completed, NAHB will finalize the study report
and submit EPA a copy.   NAHB expects to have a final report by the end
of October, 2006.

EPA discussed its dust study, and provided everyone with a copy of the
attached fact sheet on EPA’s Study on Reducing Lead Levels from
Renovation, Repair, and Painting activities.   Jackie Mosby went over
the fact sheet, and said EPA is conducting research to evaluate
environmental lead levels at appropriate stages after renovation,
repair, and painting (RRP) activities, and that the research supports
the risk assessment and cost/benefit analyses associated with EPA’s
proposed rule for Renovation, Repair, and Painting published in the
Federal Register on January 10, 1006.   She also informed them that EPA
plans is to have the study completed by the end of the year, and the
study addresses interior and exterior work.  John Schwemberger, the lead
statistician for the dust study, then discussed the dust study protocol.
  The attached summary from the EPA Science Inventory web site was also
provided to NAHB, and Jackie Mosby discussed the summary at the meeting.

The meeting ended at 12:00PM.  

