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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 4 / Thursday, January 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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performance. There is limited evidence that blood lead levels less than 5 mg/dL
are associated with delayed puberty and decreased kidney function in children 12 years of age and older Ref. 9.
For further information regarding lead and its health effects, and federal actions taken to eliminate LBP hazards in housing, see the Lead Action Plan, the Technical Support Document for this rulemaking and the background section of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, issued on April 22, 2008 also referred to as the RRP Rule, 73 FR 21692, April 22, 2008 FRL
83557, codified at 40 CFR part 745, subpart E Ref. 4, 12, 17.
B. Federal Actions To Reduce Lead Exposures In 1992, Congress enacted Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act also known as the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 or Title X
Ref. 1 in an effort to eliminate LBP
hazards. Section 1018 of Title X
required EPA and HUD to promulgate regulations for disclosure of any known LBP or any known LBP hazards in target housing offered for sale or lease known as the Disclosure Rule Ref. 18.
Target housing is defined in section 40117 of TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 268117.
On March 6, 1996, the Disclosure Rule was codified at 40 CFR part 745, subpart F, for EPA, and 24 CFR part 35, subpart A, for HUD. It requires information disclosure activities before a purchaser or lessee is obligated under a contract to purchase or lease target housing.
TSCA section 402a directs EPA to promulgate regulations covering LBP
activities to ensure persons performing these activities are properly trained, that training programs are accredited, and that contractors performing these activities are certified. On August 29, 1996, EPA published final regulations under TSCA section 402a that govern LBP inspections, risk assessments, and abatements in target housing and child occupied facilities COFs also referred to as the LBP Activities Rule, codified at 40 CFR part 745, subpart L Ref. 19.
The definition of child-occupied facility is codified at 40 CFR 745.223
for purposes of LBP activities.
Regulations promulgated under TSCA
section 402a contain standards for performing LBP activities, while taking into account reliability, effectiveness, and safety.
TSCA section 402c3 directs EPA to promulgate regulations covering renovation or remodeling activities in target housing, public buildings constructed before 1978, and commercial buildings that create LBP

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hazards. EPA issued the final RRP Rule under TSCA section 402c3 on April 22, 2008 Ref. 17.
D TSCA section 403, 15 U.S.C. 2683, gives EPA a related authority to carry out responsibilities for addressing LBP
hazards under the Disclosure and LBP
Activities Rules. TSCA section 403
requires EPA to promulgate regulations that identify . . . lead-based paint hazards, lead-contaminated dust, and lead-contaminated soil for purposes of TSCA Title IV and the Residential LeadBased Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. LBP hazards, under TSCA section 401, are defined as conditions of LBP
and lead-contaminated dust and soil that would result in adverse human health effects 15 U.S.C. 268110.
TSCA section 401 defines leadcontaminated dust as surface dust in residential dwellings that contains lead in excess of levels determined to pose a threat of adverse health effects 15
U.S.C. 268111. The 2001 LBP Hazards Rule established the DLHS to identify conditions of lead-contaminated dust that would result in adverse human health effects. These DLHS were revised in the 2019 DLHS Rule and are used to identify dust-lead hazards.
The 2001 LBP Hazards Rule also established the DLCL also referred to as clearance levels and sometimes referred to elsewhere as clearance standards under TSCA section 402a.
These clearance levels are used to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning following an abatement. As defined in TSCA section 401 abatements are designed to permanently eliminate LBP
hazards, including dust-lead hazards.
For purposes of the DLCL, postclearance dust-lead loadings below the DLHS indicate permanent elimination of dust-lead hazards.
Pursuant to TSCA section 404, 15
U.S.C. 2684, and EPAs regulations at 40
CFR part 745, subpart Q, interested states, territories, and federally recognized tribes may apply for and receive authorization to administer their own LBP Activities and RRP programs.
EPAs regulations are intended to reduce exposures, and the LBP
Activities regulations in particular are intended to identify and mitigate hazardous levels of lead. Authorized programs must be at least as protective of human health and the environment as the corresponding federal program, and must provide for adequate enforcement. See 40 CFR 745.324e2.
The 2019 DLHS Rule revised the regulation to improve the process for states, federally recognized tribes, and territories with authorized LBP
Activities programs to demonstrate that their programs meet the requirements of
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40 CFR 745.325 by submitting a report pursuant to 40 CFR 745.324h with such demonstration within two years of the effective date of a revision.
HUDs Lead Safe Housing Rule LSHR is codified in 24 CFR part 35, subparts B through R. The LSHR
implements sections 1012 and 1013 of Title X. Under Title X, HUD has specific authority to control LBP and LBP
hazards in federally-assisted target housing including COFs that are part of an assisted target housing property covered by the LSHR, because they are part of the common area of the property. The LSHR aims in part to ensure that federally-owned or federally-assisted target housing is free of LBP hazards Ref. 20. Under the LSHR, when a child under age six with an elevated blood lead level residing in certain categories of assisted target housing is identified, the designated party and/or the housing owner shall undertake certain actions.
C. Applicability and Uses of the DLCL
The DLCL finalized in this regulation support the LBP Activities program, and apply to target housing i.e., most pre1978 housing and COFs i.e., pre-1978
non-residential properties where children six years of age or under spend a significant amount of time, such as child care centers and kindergartens.
Apart from COFs, no other public and commercial buildings are covered by this rule. For further background on the types of buildings to which the LBP
Activities program apply, refer to the proposed and final 2001 LBP Hazards Rule Ref. 2, 21.
The DLCL are incorporated into the post-abatement work practices outlined in the LBP Activities Rule 40 CFR
745.227. LBP Activities regulations apply to inspections, risk assessments, project design, and abatement activities.
Pre-abatement dust-lead testing occurs during a risk assessment, often initiated to comply with HUDs LSHR or in response to discovery of a child with a blood lead level that equals or exceeds the current CDC blood lead reference value Ref. 9, or the action level set by the state the child lives in. The objective of a risk assessment is to determine, and then report, the existence, nature, severity, and location of LBP hazards in residential dwellings and COFs through an on-site investigation. During a risk assessment, a risk assessor collects environmental samples that include dust wipe samples from floors and window sills that are sent to an NLLAPrecognized laboratory for analysis.
NLLAP is an EPA program that defines the minimum requirements and abilities that a paint chips, dust, or soil testing
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