Agreed, I’d love to see a (paid!) guest post by her and/or Daniel Kanter.

Just disposing of the bags of trash/PPE/associated junk that comes with lead abatement is an enormous task. I live in Texas, where it’s pretty much a free-for-all when it comes to hazardous materials, and lead abatement was a beast of a job in my last house. The hard part wasn’t the work–it was figuring out how and where to get rid of the trash.

Because everything is contaminated. And you have to be very careful not to spread that contamination around. PPE is hot and confining, and so many details (like sticky mats) need to be considered.

I stripped seeming miles of lead paint in our former 1906 foursquare, single-handedly, with kids in the house. It was stressful. I was paranoid. It was doable though.

First, I had baselines on blood lead levels taken at the doc, and again later, to ensure nothing bad was happening (everyone was fine).

Second, the method of removal. Heat guns and sanding/scraping were out. The former can vaporize the lead, risking it going airborne, plus I was afraid of scorching the very oak I was trying to restore. And of course the latter does exactly what you DON’T want it to do — breaks it into a bazillion tiny particles to float around and settle into every crevice (or the nearby soil). My chosen method was gel paint stripper, not the horrible old stinky stuff (methylene chloride) that makes you pass out, but the newer ones that were a bazillion times less toxic-smelling: Soy Gel and then later, my holy grail gel, by the gallon: Smart Strip/Dumond. Basically I slathered it on my work area, covered it with wax paper or even saran wrap sometimes so it didn’t evaporate too quickly. And then scraaaape the liquified lead goo into contractor bags. I had some nifty little scrapers with all kinds of carbide moulding attachments, and once the main layers were off, using dental tools with the gel to get in all the teeny places was oddly satisfying. The gels never got me to bare wood in 1-2 passes, it was very iterative, and the lead paint layers at the lower levels (early 1900s) were tough. If you have fewer coats overall it might not be that bad! I think I learned through this process why people used lead in paint in the first place — it really doesn’t want to budge!!!

Third, PPE. N95 respirator (not a mask). One space at a time, always sealed off with plastic sheeting. I didn’t do full tyvek but did have disposable booties and rubber “opera gloves”, plus covered my hair & eyes.

Anyway, TMI maybe, but figured I’d share for anyone reading this far in the comments!

The Wall Street Journal about lead contamination from cables (including the Willamette River)

pureearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/WSJ-Lead-Cables-story.pdf

I’m sure this is very old news to everyone, but AMERICA IS WRAPPED IN MILES OF TOXIC LEAD CABLES
Telecom companies laid them decades ago and thousands were left behind, posing a hidden health hazard today, a WSJ investigation found.

wsj.com/business/telecom/lead-cables-telecoms-att-toxic-5b34408b

Yes! When they were very small, my kids’ levels became elevated due to playing in the dirt from our garden. We got a sandbox for them to play in, covered all exposed soil, and instituted mandatory, extensive handwashing and clothing changes back then.

Spray spray spray that water when you scrape! You might also consider a HEPA vacuum (sealed container, not like household vacuuum) to help clean up lead residue before a final wet cleaning (2 bucket method).
I used encapsulation paint on the surfaces that were unlikely to be disturbed, but stripped doors and the door frame where the door might touch. The encapsulation paint can be tinted like regular paint, if anyone wondered.

Our county pays for RRP courses, so they were free for me (and Daniel). It might be free in other locations, too! The class was very useful for learning how to do a safe work area setup, how to do full and proper PPE for lead paint stripping/disturbing, and how to clean up afterwards. I felt confident to safely strip the lead paint from all our doors and door frames after the class. Tbc, they don’t cover how to do any of the actual work.

Btw, in the world of lead paint work, abatement refers to complete removal of the lead paint, whereas painting to stabilize is considered renovation. The price differences for labor are massive!

Seconding all of the above as a health and safety manager specifically for hazmat, including lead and asbestos handling. After a respirator fit test, you should be (or get!) familiar with doing positive and negative fit tests every time your mask comes on and off of your face if you aren’t already! Brian should definitely shave. I’d recommend a full face versus a half face respirator since it will give you 5x the protection roughly. Chemical strippers may need different respiratory protection depending on what they’re made of as well and how long of an exposure you’d be looking at.

Lab fees were very reasonable in today’s market here in the PNW!