Question: DIY Lead Abatement

I'm dealing with a large amount of lead paint in a pre-war industrial building. The living area is about 1200 cubic feet of air volume. The lead is down to dust in some areas. I'm trying to find where I can rent a HEPA filter vacuum and not having any luck. I've also found reference to phosphate based cleaners. Can I get some pointers on DIY lead abatement?

Answer: DIY Lead Abatement

Hi,

I'm not sure if we can help you, and the question is past due!

The only way to find someone who rents this equipment is to ask around, and you have probably already done this...

You may want to contact a manufacturer for advice, as they may sell vacuums to people who rent them.

Here's one in New Jersey:

Elgee Manufacturing Company, Inc.
225 Stirling Road
Warren, NJ 07059
1-800-742-0400
sales@elgee.com

Try superpages.com. Search for "rent vacuum" and make a few calls.

I found one web page that mentioned "a very few" companies rent HEPA vacuums:

http://www.buyersresource.com/417.html

Also, Googling "lead abatement residential how to" leads to some good links. Here's a few:

http://www.cleaninglink.com/Safety_Library/Lead_Abatement_Encapsulation.htm

Permanent removal, according to this website, requires a certified lead abatement contractor:

http://apartments.about.com/library/articles/bl_lead.htm

Check out the epa.gov website:

http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/leadinfo.htm

In general, the information is quite scattered.

Good luck.