| Summary: | The Environmental Protection Agency appropriates 400 million dollars in grant
funding under the authority of Title X: Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction
Act of 1992. The education mandate of Title X states that the federal government must
build an infrastructure to educate the public, real estate professionals, and contractors, to
name a few, on the hazards of lead-based paint. A survey was developed to assess the
effectiveness of the Title X education mandate. Contractors in the City of New Orleans
were surveyed to assess their knowledge of the act and the hazards of lead-based paint
before attending an 8-hour training course used to training contractors in accordance with
a city ordinance. The citys ordinance was passed to ensure that contractors performing
remodeling or renovation activities in the city limits are properly trained on the hazards
of lead-based paint and hazard control methods known as interim controls. It requires
contractors to attend a minimum 8-hour course approved by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD).
<p> The results of this study indicate that the contractors in
the New Orleans area are not being educated on the hazards of lead-based paint and the
requirements of Title X as mandated. The training course the contractors attended
requires attendees to pass a post-course test in order to receive a notice of completion to
prove certification. The scores from the test were also analyzed and assessed. The
analysis demonstrated the contractors benefited from specialized training as average
scores of the group increased by approximately 20% over the survey scores.
This study recommends policy mandating training and education with a need for
additional research. Contractors should be required to attend specialized education.
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