The National Paint and Coating Association and the attorneys general for 46 states have reached an agreement that should heighten consumer awareness about the dangers of lead paint.
Beginning Sept. 30 and continuing for 19 months, paint manufacturers who are members of the NPCA will be required to put stickers on non-aerosol containers bigger than 16 ounces and aerosol containers larger than 24 ounces. The stickers warn users that removing old paint can release toxic lead dust and refer consumers to the EPA's national telephone hotline and the portion of their Web site dedicated to this issue.
By the end of the year, most manufacturers will have to change the label on their cans to include the language on the sticker, as well as further information on the dangers of lead and how to protect oneself from exposure. Manufacturers whose label already has a similar warning with a reference to the EPA hotline still have to use the sticker but have until the end of 2004 to change their label.
Tom Graves, vice president and general counsel at NPCA, called the approval by the membership "unanimous" and "enthusiastic" and pointed out that while the agreement will be an added cost to manufacturers, it won't be a wasted one. "It beats having a hodgepodge of state laws," Graves says. "Now we have a uniform national system, which is what we wanted."
The attorneys general in five states -- Missouri, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, and Vermont -- did not sign on to the agreement. Officials in the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands joined in signing.
The agreement also stipulates that manufacturers must arrange for the disbursement of brochures wherever their paint is sold. This point-of-sale information is being produced by the NPCA, which is drawing heavily from EPA materials.
The agreement also sets in motion a four-year national lead paint education and training program to be conducted by the NPCA. The organization will target anyone who might come in contact with lead-based paint -- from do-it-yourselfers to housing inspectors, not to mention contractors -- and teach them about safe practices.