815 Demolition Safety

Hazard Controls for Lead

Effective source control measures rely primarily on containment or local exhaust ventilation. However, these methods alone may not be enough to reduce worker exposure to lead because airborne concentrations can be very high or change unpredictably. To better protect workers, additional measures must be used to control lead hazards at the source and beyond. Below is a more complete list of methods to reduce the risks of lead exposure.

Containment: Use plastic sheeting, sealed doors, and negative pressure to keep dust inside the work area.

• Example: During lead paint removal in a school, crews build a sealed enclosure so dust does not spread to classrooms.

Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV): Capture lead dust or fumes at the source with hoods, ducts, and HEPA filtration. Place the hood as close as possible to grinding, cutting, melting, or soldering points.

• Example: A recycling shop uses overhead hoods directly above lead pots to pull fumes away from workers.

Wet Methods: Mist or wet surfaces before scraping or cutting to keep dust from becoming airborne.

• Example: Crews wet-sand a lead-painted railing to cut dust during surface prep.

Tool Selection and Maintenance: Use shrouded grinders and drills connected to HEPA vacuums. Choose methods that generate less dust (scoring and lifting paint rather than power-sanding when possible).

• Example: A contractor switches from open sanding to a shrouded sander with HEPA capture to lower airborne lead.

Housekeeping: Use HEPA vacuums for cleanup. Do not dry sweep or use compressed air. Collect debris in sealed bags or containers labeled for lead waste.

• Example: After cutting lead-painted steel, workers HEPA-vac the floor and tools before removing containment.

Hygiene Facilities and Work Practices: Provide clean handwashing stations, change rooms, and separate clean/dirty areas. Prohibit eating, drinking, or smoking in contaminated spaces.

• Example: Workers change out of contaminated coveralls and wash hands before entering the break area.

Administrative Controls: Rotate tasks to limit time in high-exposure areas and schedule high-dust tasks when fewer people are present. Use exposure monitoring, clear procedures, and training on lead hazards and safe work methods.

• Example: A bridge crew moves abrasive blasting to early morning hours and limits crew size inside containment.

Respiratory Protection (when needed): When engineering and work practice controls do not keep exposures low, workers must use proper respirators with HEPA or P100 filters. Provide fit testing, medical evaluations, and training.

• Example: During torch-cutting of lead-painted steel, workers wear half-mask elastomeric respirators with P100 filters while LEV runs.

Protective Clothing and Decontamination: Use disposable or washable coveralls, gloves, and shoe covers to prevent take-home lead. Set up a decontamination line: dirty area → wash/shower → clean area.

• Example: At the end of the shift, workers doff PPE in the dirty zone, shower, and dress in clean clothes to avoid exposing family members.

Key Point: Source controls like containment and local exhaust ventilation are preferred and must be used first. Because construction conditions can change quickly, employers must combine engineering controls with strong housekeeping, hygiene, training, and, when needed, respiratory protection to keep blood lead levels low and protect workers.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.