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Lead-Based Paint Waste

Lead-Based Paint Waste Regulatory Requirements

Title V of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act (Act) establishes statutory requirements to ensure that solid waste will be handled in a safe and responsible manner. The requirements found in the Act and the Board's regulations are intended to reduce the occupational and environmental health risks that occur during storage, treatment, transport, transfer and disposal of solid waste.

The information presented in this fact sheet does not eliminate any person's responsibility to fulfill any legal obligation under the Act or regulations promulgated thereunder.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide some of the solid waste requirements, found in both the Act and the Board's regulations. For the complete requirements, please see Title V of the Act and 35 Illinois Administrative Code (IAC): Subtitle G.

For additional information on solid waste regulations in Illinois, please contact the Disposal Alternatives Unit at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; Bureau of Land; 1021 North Grand Avenue East; P. O. Box 19276; Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276 or call (217) 524-3300.

1. What is lead based paint?

Lead-based paint waste can be generated by homeowners or contractors (painters, carpenters, commercial paint strippers, etc.).

Examples of places that may generate lead-based paint waste include:

  1. Households (including single and multiple residence),
  2. Hotels and motels,
  3. Schools,
  4. Commercial buildings, and
  5. Painted structures.

2. Is lead based paint waste hazardous?

Homeowner Generated Lead-based Paint Waste

Lead-based paint waste removed from a home by the homeowner is considered general refuse and may disposed of as municipal waste.

Lead-based Paint Waste Generated by a Contractor

Lead-based paint waste removed from a home by a contractor may be: (1) demolition/construction debris (general refuse), (2) non-hazardous special waste, or (3) hazardous waste.

The generator may dispose of lead-based paint waste as demolition/construction debris if the paint is not removed from the painted surface prior to disposal.

Lead-based paint waste that is removed from a surface prior to disposal must be disposed of as a special waste and may be a hazardous waste. In this case, the contractor must determine if the paint waste is hazardous for lead prior to disposal. Paint waste is hazardous if it has a concentration of lead equal to 5.0 mg/l or greater as determined by the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure.

3. Who can accept lead based paint waste?

Homeowner Generated Lead-based Paint Waste

Paint waste generated by a homeowner may be disposed of in a properly permitted sanitary landfill.

Lead-based Paint Waste Generated by a Contractor

Hazardous paint waste must be sent to a facility that has a federally mandated Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit to store, treat, or dispose of hazardous waste.

Lead-based paint waste which adheres to the demolition/construction debris may be disposed of in a properly permitted sanitary landfill or sent to a facility that has a permit issued by the state to accept non-hazardous waste for storage or treatment.

Non-hazardous paint waste which has been removed from the surface by a contractor is a special waste and must be disposed of in a properly permitted special waste landfill or sent to a facility that has a permit issued by the State to accept special waste for storage or treatment.

4. What are the requirements for transporters of lead based paint waste?

Anyone who hauls or transports any special waste (i.e., lead-based paint waste) within Illinois must have a current, valid waste hauling permit issued by the Illinois EPA.

Exemptions:

  1. Any person who generates less than 220 pounds of special waste in a calendar month and transports their own waste; or
  2. The paint waste is generated and transported by a homeowner.

5. What are my manifest and record keeping requirements?

Any person who delivers any special waste to a permitted special waste hauler must complete a manifest which must accompany the special waste from initial delivery to the final destination of the special waste. 

Exemptions:

  1. The generator generates less than 220 pounds of special waste in a calendar month; or
  2. The waste is generated by a homeowner.

6. Must I submit an annual report?

A generator of hazardous waste who generates 2200 pounds or more in any month must submit an annual hazardous waste report to the Agency by March 1.

7. Are there any other regulatory requirements that generators of lead-based paint need to be aware of?

The Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program requires contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 to be certified and to follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.  The work practices call for the work area to be encapsulated in plastic and, when the work is complete, the plastic, dust and debris must be bagged and the bags must be properly disposed of.

The Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program is administered at the federal level by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) [800-424-5323 or 312-886-6003] and at the state level by the Illinois Department of Public Health [217-785-3045].  The link to the US EPA’s website on this program is http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm