Hazardous Lead Paint Waste

Lead based paint is hazardous, because the toxic lead inside the paint readily leaches out of the paint into the surrounding environment posing a health threat to humans, animals, and some plants. Therefore, lead paint waste must be handled and disposed of as hazardous waste to protect people and the environment. All industrial and commercial lead paint removal jobs involve legal liability for hazardous waste disposal of the lead paint waste. Residential jobs are generally excluded by the EPA from legal obligation to handle and dispose of lead paint waste as hazardous waste. To avoid contamination of the environment, however, we recommend treating your lead paint waste as hazardous waste directing that waste to an appropriate hazardous waste site. An easy and less expensive alternative would be removing the paint with LEAD OUT® Paint Stripper, which will render the lead paint waste permanently non-hazardous allowing for less expensive and easier disposal. 

LEAD OUT® converts soluble lead compounds into insoluble lead-sulfide and protects it at the molecular level preventing the lead molecules from leaching out of the waste. We refer to this as chemical containment of the lead, which is a unique benefit of using LEAD OUT® Paint Stripper. It also helps with the physical containment of the lead paint with its thick gel stripper during removal, which helps comply with OSHA and EPA rules requiring containment of lead paint and lead dust.

Commercial and industrial contractors should send samples for laboratory analysis of the paint waste to document its non-hazardous state. The appropriate test is a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, or "TCLP," often referred to as a "Tee-Clip." The reading will have to be less than 5.0 mg/l of lead to be classified as non-hazardous. Remember, a critical part of complying with lead laws and regulations is maintaining appropriate documentation. Previous use of Blue Bear® LEAD OUT® has produced TCLP results below 5.0 mg/l where Blue Bear® LEAD OUT® was used appropriately to remove lead based coatings or other hazardous heavy-metal based coatings.