Lead Dictionary

Glossary of Lead Terms

The following is a listing of terms that are commonly used during the lead hazard reduction process:

Abatement - A procedure that eliminates lead-based paint hazards or lead-based paint. The four types of abatement methods are removal, enclosure, encapsulation, and replacement.

"Affected" Property - A residential property built prior to 1950 that contains at least one rental dwelling unit OR a residential property built between 1950 and 1978 and the owner has elected to comply in order to reduce his liability.

Certified - The designation for contractors who have completed training and other requirements to allow them to carry out risk assessments, inspections, or abatements safely. Risk assessors, inspectors, and abatement contractors must be certified by the appropriate local, tribal, state, or Federal agency

Chelation - A medical drug treatment for lead poisoning

Compliance - To be in full compliance with the Maryland law, a Property Owner of an affected property must:

1. Register each affected property each year with MDE and pay a $10.00 annual fee.
2. Deliver to tenants by a verifiable method (written acknowledgement), copies of the Maryland "Notice of Tenant's Rights" and the EPA's "Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home" pamphlet at the initiation of a tenancy and every two years thereafter
3. Perform "Full Risk Reduction Treatments" in the affected property prior to occupancy by a new tenant, or perform "Modified Risk Reduction Treatments" in response to a Notice of Defect from an existing tenant.
4. Notify each tenant of known lead hazards in each unit.

Defect - A "defect" is any part of a home that has chipping, peeling or flaking paint, or a structural problem such as: leaking ceiling/roof, broken doors and windows, lack of heat, or faulty plumbing.

dl - Short for deciliter. A deciliter is one tenth of a liter, or a little less than half a cup of liquid. This measurement is used when measuring blood in the body.

Deteriorated lead-based paint - Any lead-based paint that is peeling, chipping, blistering, flaking, worn, chalking, cracking, or otherwise becoming separated from the surface to which it was applied.

Encapsulation - An abatement method in which a lead-painted surface is coated with a special liquid paint that hardens and prevents lead dust from being released.

Enclosure - An abatement method in which a lead-painted surface is covered with paneling, wallboard, or other approved material to prevent lead dust from being released.

Full Risk Reduction Treatment - Required to be performed in an affected property at each change in occupancy. The Full Risk Reduction Standard is met by:

1. Passing a lead dust test that meets the Maryland Lead Dust Clearance Standard and receiving an Inspection Certificate, provided that any chipping, peeling, or flaking paint in the property has been removed or repainted; OR
2. Completion of the Full Risk Reduction Measures (by a certified contractor) and receipt of a Visual Inspection Certificate (by a certified inspector). These measures include:

a. Visual review of all exterior and interior painted surfaces;
b. Removal and repainting of any chipping, peeling, or flaking paint on interior and exterior surfaces;
c. Repair of any structural defects that are causing paint to chip, peel, or flake;
d. Stripping, repainting, replacing or encapsulating all interior window sills with vinyl, metal or other approved materials, and in a manner approved by MDE;
e. Installation of caps of vinyl, aluminum or other approved materials in all window wells to make wells smooth and cleanable
f. Fixing of the top of the sash of all windows to prevent friction caused by the opening and closing of windows; (this does not apply to "lead free" or "replacement" windows);
g. Rehanging of all doors necessary to prevent the rubbing together of lead-painted surfaces with another surface;
h. Making sure that all kitchen and bathroom floors are overlaid with a smooth, water resistant covering;
i. Making all bare floors smooth and cleanable; and
j. HEPA vacuuming and wet washing the interior of the unit.

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter - A filter that can remove very small lead particles and prevent them from being redistributed into the air. HEPA filters are used on respirators and vacuum cleaners to prevent lead exposure from projects that that disturb lead-based paint.

Inspection (of paint) - An evaluation to determine if lead-based paint is present and where it is located.

Inspector - An individual who has completed training from an EPA-approved program and has been licensed or certified by MDE to perform a lead-based paint inspection

Lead dust - Dust that forms when lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated. Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together. Lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it.

Lead-free - A property that is devoid of the presence of both interior and exterior lead paint.

Lead-safe housing - Housing that has been inspected by a state lead inspector and certified lead-safe by passing a dust test. (No housing built before 1950 is considered lead safe unless it has been inspected by a certified lead inspector).

Modified Risk Reduction Treatment - Required to be performed in an affected property within 30 days of a Property Owner's receipt of a written Notice of Defect from an existing tenant. The Modified Risk Reduction Standard is met by:

1. Passing a lead dust test that meets the Maryland Lead Dust Clearance Standard and receipt of an Inspection Certificate, provided that any chipping, peeling, or flaking paint in the property has been removed or repainted; OR
2. Completion of Modified Risk Reduction Measures and receipt of either an Inspection Certificate (from a certified inspector) or a signed work order completion (from the tenant and the contractor's certified supervisor). The Modified Risk Reduction Treatments are similar to the Full Risk Reduction Treatments except that a certified worker only has to HEPA-vacuum and phosphate clean the areas where repairs were made, and there is no requirement to make all bare floors smooth and cleanable.

Notice of Defect - A written notice which informs a property owner that there is chipping, peeling, and/or flaking paint in the affected property, or a Person at Risk with an elevated blood lead level of 15 ug/dL or greater

Person at Risk - A child under the age of six (6) or a pregnant woman who resides or regularly spends at least twenty-four (24) hours per week in an affected property.

Relocation expenses - All expenses necessitated by the relocation of a tenant's household to lead-safe housing, including moving and hauling expenses, the HEPA-vacuuming of all upholstered furniture, payment of a security deposit for the lead safe housing, and installation and connection of utilities and appliances. A property owner is responsible for relocation expenses if the Modified Risk Reduction treatment in an existing tenant's dwelling unit will take longer than 24 hours to complete.

Rental Property Owner - Any person or entity that has legal title to housing, including individuals, partnerships, corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations who own and rent affected properties.

Registration - When an owner acquires a new affected property, the owner has (30) days after acquisition to provide a completed registration form for the new property to MDE and pay a $10.00 registration fee. Registration must be renewed annually, and any change in ownership, management, or insurance must be reported within (30) days. Registration forms are open for public inspection, but MDE may not provide a list of properties owned by an individual property owner. However, MDE must disclose, upon request, whether the property owner has registered a particular unit. MDE Registration forms request the following information:

1. Name and address of the owner;
2. Address of the affected property;
3. If applicable, name and address of each property manager employed by the owner to manage the affected property;
4. Name and address of each insurance company providing property insurance or lead hazard coverage for the affected property;
5. Name and address of a resident agent, other agent of the owner, or contact person in the State with respect to the affected property;
6. Whether the affected property was built before 1950 or after 1949;
7. Date of the latest change in occupancy of the affected property;
8. Dates and nature of treatments performed to attain or maintain a risk reduction standard;
9. Latest date, if any, on which the affected property has been certified to be in compliance.

Risk Assessment - An on-site investigation of housing to determine if lead hazards are present and how they can be controlled.

Risk Assessor - A certified individual who has completed training with an accredited training program and has been certified to perform a risk assessment.

Standard Dust Test - The most common method for dust collection is a surface wipe sample. Usually baby wipes or wet wipes are used to collect dust from the property. After sampling, the wipe is placed in a container and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

ug/dL - Short for micrograms per deciliter. The measurement is used to express how much lead is in your blood.

Wet scraping - A process used to remove loose or chipping paint. The paint is wet misted before being scraped to keep dust levels down.